Our business concept is to help startups develop the results of their commercial research into successful companies. We help those companies during their initial development phase and then transfer them over to new owners who will complete their development.

Our business is based on the idea of a number of experienced board members and corporate executives joining together in a co-owned company – which in turn owns shares in several portfolio companies. The group of owners consists of people with a genuine interest in supporting new startups.

We are prepared to be part of the portfolio companies’ boards, actively contribute with our business experience and generously share our personal contacts. We invest capital in the portfolio companies and expect it to take some time for we see a return.

We look for companies with an innovative commercial product idea based on a patented or patent-pending solution. Our goal is to have ownership in 10-15 companies with time-staggered exit strategies. Our stake should be between 10-40%.

PÄAB chooses to invest in companies with patented innovations that have international potential and the capacity to have an impact in their respective industry. The industries we look closest at are in the life sciences (medical technology/non-pharmaceutical), environmental technology and energy efficiency.

When evaluating a new company for our portfolio we follow a structured process and checklist, with great emphasis on the ability of the founders. Prior to initial investment in a given company, an agreement is established with the founder and any other partners regarding decision-making, drag-along and tag-along, exit clause, etc. Payment of agreed-upon investments follow achieved milestones.

We also take part in shared partnerships with other investors, such as Almi Invest and Industrifonden.

Our role in our portfolio companies is primarily about contributing capital, as well as our contacts, advice and time. In the start-up phase we appoint one or more board members and usually the chairman.

During the company’s development, the PÄAB’s board continuously evaluates operations and we contribute potential capital gains in line with the development and needs of the portfolio companies.

Part of the work is about actively looking for the next owner and evaluating different alternatives.