Alan Vaksman, Digital Horizon

Guest Author

Alan Vaksman is chairman and co-founder of Digital Horizon, an early stage VC and venture builder, and director at YesGrowth, a UK-based business loans platform for SMBs. He is also chairman of Gazprombank Switzerland and director at Amsterdam Trade Bank. He was previously a partner at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, where he headed the Capital Markets and Risk Management practice in Central and Eastern Europe, a risk executive in London's KPMG financial services advisory, program manager for Goldman Sachs, London, and a project manager in the strategy and innovation division at First National Bank, South Africa.

Why diversity, data and compliance are more critical than ever for venture capitalists

Contrary to common belief, 2008’s global financial crisis (GFC) did not significantly change the venture industry like it changed the rest of the financial services. Most funds that continued to invest through the GFC did so in already commercially profitable companies. Since then, investor risk appetite to venture has only grown, but now the industry faces a second crisis wave — that of valuations, an urgent need to fix the lack of transparency, and the need for a truly systemic approach. 

Alan Vaksman, Digital Horizon