Toloka investment syndicate launches in Ukraine. Tickets are up to $1.5 million

Oleksandr Kolb, Ihor Shoifot, and Taras Kyrychenko have launched Toloka, an investment syndicate of private investors. As the founders told AIN.Capital, they plan to invest in startups with tickets ranging from $500,000 to $1.5 million. You can join the syndicate as an investor with capital starting with $5,000.

The editorial staff of AIN.Capital tells the details.

What is Toloka?

• The syndicate of private investors Toloka is a new project of Ihor Shoifot (TMT Investments), Taras Kyrychenko (Nova Post), and Oleksandr Kolb (Promodo). The partners have significant investment experience of more than $200 million of funds invested and over 300 venture investments made.
• As the founders explained, the reason for creating the syndicate is to help investors increase their own capital and achieve diversified investment portfolios around the world, as well as to promote the growth of the startup ecosystem in Ukraine and beyond its borders.
• Toloka.vc will invest in startups that have already launched a product on the market, have a certain number of users/consumers, monthly revenue growth, and operate in global markets. This will minimize the risks for investors and increase the chances of a profitable exit.
• The syndicate will not limit the investments only for Ukrainian startups, but they will be given utmost priority. Also, the syndicate will direct part of the profit to Ukrainian funds supporting the development of entrepreneurship.
• In the first year of operation, the syndicate plans to make 1-2 investments per month.

How to join and how it will operate?

• To become an investor, you need to fill the application on the website of the syndicate. Investors are then added to a closed channel where they are offered investment deals.
• General partners will invest their own money, syndicate participants will be offered to join the deals. The minimum amount of investment in one startup is $5,000, while syndicate members are not obliged to invest in each proposed deal and decide to join one or another investment.
• If the investor decides to join the deal, they go to the chat dedicated to this deal via the link, where they can discuss all the issues and get all the information related to the investment and execution of the deal.
• When making an investment, the syndicate will divide among all investors a one-time payment for the implementation of the agreement (from 4.5% to 8.5% of the amount of the agreement once, annual payments are not provided).
• The first investment deal will be offered to syndicate members at the end of June.

As the founders of Toloka told AIN.Capital, the reputation and pro-Ukrainian position of investors is very important to the syndicate. It is noted that all the founders of the syndicate have Ukrainian roots. Kolb and Kyrychenko live permanently in Ukraine, Shoifot lives permanently in Silicon Valley, is a native of the Russian Federation, but has Ukrainian origins and a pro-Ukrainian position.

It is worth noting that TMT Investments was founded by Russian natives, most of whom currently live abroad. It is a public company traded on the London Stock Exchange. The fund’s portfolio includes Ukrainian startups: 3DLOOK, Depositphotos (exit due to sale), Attendify, RetargetApp (Adwisely), and rollApp. Shoifot claims that he does not have a Russian passport.