Beyond the capital: maximizing ROI after the round
- Tendai Chisowa, Ph.D.
- Apr 3
- 4 min read
After the term sheet is signed, glasses from the celebratory drinks are emptied, and the deal-induced dopamine rush has settled back to baseline, how can investors maximize the value of their returns via post-investment engagement?
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Over the past few months, I’ve had the privilege of participating in the Kinnevik Young Talent Program — a 9-month initiative designed to develop emerging leaders within Kinnevik’s portfolio companies. The program equips nominated team members with tools to strengthen their leadership capabilities and expand their impact within their organizations. During the program, a question that I contemplated daily back in my investor days bubbled to the surface, “How can investors maximize their return via post-investment engagement?” There are various routes I’ve observed investors take, and in light of the Young Talent Program, in this article, I'll focus on investing in employees aka Talent.
Talent Density: The Startup Multiplier
In early-stage companies, the team is arguably one of the greatest drivers of success. The executive layer sets the vision and culture, bringing in the extended team to execute and deliver on that vision (Fig 1).
The ideal scenario for most startups is a team that operates with high Talent Density, a term pioneered by Netflix, to reflect the ratio of exceptional to adequate or below-average-performing contributors. High Talent Density is particularly important during the critical growth and value inflection periods from Seed to IPO (or other chosen exit strategy) when startups are seeking to maximize their pre-exit valuation, which is largely dependent on their productivity and the value of their output. These are the moments when execution quality determines whether a company builds value or declines. High-value output may be accomplished by increasing the proportion of Talent that possesses the skills and capabilities to exceed [I intentionally did not say meet ] company goals. Though there are many other contributing factors.
|Why strive to exceed instead of meet goals? Meeting goals sets a ceiling. Exceeding them removes the ceiling.
In my prior investment days, one of my key diligence criteria was the leadership team’s ability to hire, develop, and retain top performers at every level. Further, the goal was to retain high performers such that as they advanced and developed their leadership skills, instead of practicing up and out, they chose the up within route.
Up and out: High-performing employees leave to grow elsewhere
Up within: They evolve into the next generation of leaders at their current company [the ideal scenario]
While many factors influencing retention and development are beyond an investor's control, one area within reach is building structured programs that equip and inspire talent to stay and lead.
That’s what Kinnevik has done — and I’ve seen firsthand how powerful this can be.
Investor-catalyzed programs that cultivate Talent are one impactful method for engaging and nurturing portfolio employees. In this way, existing Talent are equipped with new tools to strengthen their influence and the quality of their work within their teams, enabling more positive outcomes. There is no one size fits all blueprint for crafting such a program, and each firm should integrate the unique aspects of their culture and creative flair to their respective programs. That said, I’ll highlight a few factors that I have particularly enjoyed about Kinnevik’s Young Talent Program.
1. Small, High-Engagement Groups:
Over 60 participants across 30+ portfolio companies → Split into groups of ~5
Smaller groups mean no hiding behind Zoom squares. Everyone is engaged — including those who may be quieter in large group settings. This creates space for authentic conversation and leadership growth across personality types.
2. Dispersed Sessions that Build Scarcity Value:
90-minute sessions → Infrequent, but high-impact
The pacing creates a sense of importance and urgency. I find myself fully present — no multitasking — and more likely to apply the insights between sessions.
3. External Facilitation: Led by the excellent team at Lorensbergs (5⭐️)
The coaching sessions are not led by Kinnevik’s team. While I would not mind this, as I can learn a lot from them, I believe that having a third-party coach that is not directly affiliated with Kinnevik cultivates greater transparency from participants (less pressure to impress the investor by saying the ‘right’ thing) and further removes the risk of bias that Kinnevik is molding us to fit their ideal profile during the coaching sessions (it is important for each company and their employees to maintain freedom to operate and thrive within their unique cultures). The themes and takeaways from each coaching session are applicable to all participants and may be applied within any role to improve each participant’s leadership toolset.
In conclusion…
Supporting talent development isn’t just a nice gesture — it’s a strategic lever that investors can pull to optimize portfolio performance. Venture firms that invest in their people (across companies) create:
More resilient and engaged teams
Higher leadership capacity
Stickier talent
Investors often compete for the right to lead rounds. But what if they also compete on their actions after the deal is closed? While it may be tempting, and often easier, to adopt a hands-off approach, firms that inject non-monetary investments into their portfolio companies — like targeted talent development — gain more than goodwill. They help unlock the full potential of their investments and build durable relationships that compound over time.
Much love to all of our investors. My experience at Enveda has been all the more rewarding thanks to our exceptional investors who offer diverse modes of support to accelerate our progress.
Signing off,
Dr.T
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