The British VC Fund “Sturgeon Capital” Invests in BILLZ

The British VC fund “Sturgeon Capital” has made direct investments in BILLZ  – an Uzbekistan-based retail startup that is raising funds on the VentureRocket Eurasia platform.

About Sturgeon Capital
Sturgeon Capital is a London-based VC fund that has been investing in innovative tech startups of Central Asia and the Caucasus for 15 years, with a focus on fintech and digital early-stage businesses. Over the past years, the fund has already invested in seven different Uzbekistani startups, including BILLZ.

What startups does Sturgeon Capital invest in?
The company invests in technology companies that have demonstrated there is a proven demand for the product/service they are building. In most cases, those are ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and SaaS ( Software-as-a-Service) projects that are fixed-income businesses. Moreover, the startup’s team also matters to Sturgeon – the fund carefully analyzes the team’s potential and how flexible and trustworthy they are to collaborate with in the long run.

Why BILLZ?

•  The Management TeamIn Sturgeon’s experience, the founder and CEO of Billz, Rustam Khamdamov,  has a clear vision of how a business should develop and “how it should grow locally in order to sustain growth”.
  
  “As financial investors, we rely on the quality of the management team to run a business plan, and in the case of BILLZ, we have confidence in their ability and vision”, – says Robin Butler, the CIO at Sturgeon Capital.

• The Problem
  The BILLZ team has already built a solid track record and demonstrated the viability of its product in the market – more than 700 stores throughout Uzbekistan are leveraging its product.
  
  “Currently, many Uzbekistani stores are still using Excel. The BILLZ automation tool can greatly increase the efficiency and profitability of these companies. As such, its value proposition for potential customers is compelling”, – says Robin.

• The Business Model
  Billz operates based on the SaaS business model – a fixed income model which is exactly what many investors look for in startups.

• The Government
  The government of Uzbekistan is actively supporting digital retail startups like BILLZ, by providing reforms that encourage stores to move to digital and automated products.

What are the Conditions of Cooperation with Sturgeon Capital?
Sturgeon Capital never seeks to take the majority stake in a startup – usually, the team aims to own 10-30% of the project. The fund is open to new investment opportunities and invites tech startups to reach out to the team through LinkedIn or the website.

To learn more about the BILLZ solution and contact the team, please, register here.