Global Investor VC Dale W Wood Says, “Operations Are Just in My DNA”, Talks About His Career as a VC and His Take on the State of the Industry

Part 1

About Dale W Wood

“The past one year had been traumatic as the COVID-19 spread has left the businesses across the world counting losses and speculating the way to recovery”, says Dale W Wood, who has been in the venture investment business for the past two decades.

One of the lessons in venture capital space is, “ideas come and go, execution is the real thing.” This precept of Dale W Wood underscores the importance of backing excellent management teams. “I’ve helped ideas become successful businesses and pushed entrepreneurs to capitalize on their potential by turning 22 years of experience into well-placed investments and mentorships”, Dale said.

Dale W Wood is an alumnus of the Edwin L. Cox School of Business, Texas, where he earned an international business MBA.

Early in his career, he used to work for a manufacturing company in Texas—Texas Industries, where he launched its website in 1996. It was the world’s first construction company website when the world wide web was still in the nascent stage.

He then worked in a recruitment company KForce, where he would do cold calling and interview scheduling. He failed forward and led, founded, and invested in multiple internet-based businesses for the next two decades in quest of something more meaningful.

As he becomes more confident in using his knowledge and wide-ranging experience of investing in high-potential startups, he decided to do it more professionally. He found a personal investment holding group and a venture capital firm in February 2017—Dale Ventures, in Dubai.

Dale, through his venture capital arm, Dale Ventures—has invested in some of the high-potential entrepreneurs around the globe, such as Instanda, Huma, Rayo Credit, and TechMet, which have driven some of his highest returns to date.

Part 2 

Q1 - What led to the founding of HealthYes! Preventative Screen ans how it all fared?

It is no secret that throughout human history, scientists, and doctors have tried to unlock the complexities involved in the human body. We live in an era when development in genomics, medical imaging, and pathology has made great strides. Digital biomarkers are further taking this journey forward by making provisions of real-time updates into individuals’ medical state.

I was always fascinated with the technological implementations in the healthcare sector of how things work, what goes in, and which cells get tickled to give the desired effect. HealthYes was my endeavor in this direction. My team and I utilized the healthcare network to find out the solutions and provide proactive healthcare through mobile preventive health screenings for the diseases. Through HealthYes, we were able to identify several underlying issues that can easily go unassessed by way of conventional methods of physicals and checkups. By using the latest technology available, we were able to deliver affordable healthcare to the consumer comfortably. And I must say this, HealthYes was not only a financially fulfilling venture, but it gave us and emotional satisfaction deep down that we are doing something good for society.

Q2 – Having seen the Latin America and Asia-Pacific venture markets, how do they compare?

I would say that it is complicated to generalize about such a vast part of the world that is spanning across regions, ethnicities, and languages. Not just this, but we find a wide variation in terms of human development indicators, systems of economy, and forms of government. Some of these nations have a growing and young population, while some are aging. If you look at Asia, it amounted to only 33% of world’s GDP 20 years back. However, by 2040, we expect it to be accounting for half of world consumption.

In Latin America, we see countries having deep security markets, such as Brazil, where GDP growth is around 2.5 %. Columbia has 3.5 to 4%. Argentina, which was facing a recession—is expected to grow by 2% next year. Despite having a general slowdown in Mexico, it too is expected to grow.

Despite all, Latin America’s GDP shall improve in the next year thanks to robust growth indicators in Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico. At Dale Ventures, we remain focused on emerging markets. The ongoing trade war between China and the United States has kept the Asian market intact but on pause. Growth has already started showing signs of a slowdown in China; however, some strategists think it has bottomed. We are closely monitoring the growth indicators in both regions.

Dale W. Wood Backed Startups Turning Out To Be The “Next Big Thing”

Q3 – Which market is easy for startups?

It is not a question of easy or challenging. At Dale Ventures, we partner with startups and easily see multiple chances across different markets. Being a VC company, we are at the right place to visualize the impact of market choice on future success. One needs to watch his knowledge and relationships requisite for coming out as a leader in the target market. Moreover, execution matters more than the idea itself.

Q4 – Is it an appropriate time to do a startup now?

Despite all the uncertainty due to coronavirus, now is still an excellent time to start a business. Most entrepreneurs might disagree with me, but I have my reasons. To be clear-cut, I am not saying that it will be easy. However, if you have a great idea, time is ideal for attracting and partnering with top-notch players. I consider the downturn an excellent time to start something new because people remain focused on only one thing—finding real value for them. Also, there will be lesser noise in the market around valuation, funding, etc. Talent can be made available easily without great attrition rates. Companies can also remain focused on their value instead of vanity metrics.

Q5 – How Dale W Wood supported Rayo Credit’s Colombian expansion?

When Rayo Credit’s founders made up their minds to foray into Colombia, I decided to support them by becoming the lead investor. We initially invested $500,000 and committed further investment up to $5 million. We are happy that Rayo Credit has grown phenomenally well—more than what the founders had thought. Now Rayo Credit has a vast number of satisfied users in Colombia, fulfilling their short-term financial needs.

Q6 – How did they (Rayo Credit) come across you?

Twin brothers Pablo Arce and Bernardo Arce reached out to me with their pioneering business idea of the online loan disbursement and repayment company. The Acre duo was seeking technical support, resources, and of course, the capital. Dale Ventures provided them with a seed fund of $1 million.

Q7 – Do you have a limit on what you can invest?

This is an incredibly good question! It all depends on the inherent value in the idea, plus the visions of the startups’ leaders. I would not say I like to put any limit if the concept is innovative and ground-breaking. I would like to add that value also gets built over time, and luckily on our investments, we have always been right.

Q8 - What are your expectations for those that you onvest in?

We focus on building a strong relationship with the management of the company we invest in. We then leverage our financial and operational expertise in collaboration with the startup to build a long-term vision for the company. We expect them to adhere to the mutually beneficial blueprint of the long-term partnership.

Q9 – What sectors have you not bet on you would like to?

Dale Ventures primarily focuses on financial and business services, technology and media, real estate, and consumer and retail business—yet, no sector is off-limits. We see venture capital investment as a microeconomic space; that is, it all depends on the company.

Q10 – Do you think Dale Venture will be as big as Sequoia Capital someday? (optional)

Of course, the growth story of Sequoia is an inspiration for not only us but for every venture capital company around us. Dale Ventures’ growth has been awe-inspiring by all parameters. I do not see any reason we would not want or think to be what Sequoia is today.

Ending now. What is it that you would like to leave? What would you like to say to entrepreneurs?

At Dale Ventures, primarily, we believe that the ability to drive growth continually creates value in the long term. For development, the necessary components are — clear and transparent communication, properly defined goals, and maintaining and building powerful teams. We must also not forget that in the quest to produce long-term value, patience and persistence are the keys. A mutually agreed upon the multi-step blueprint of success needs to be drawn and followed keenly to stay ahead of the competition.