It's more than just money
We sit down with Anna Andersson, Head of Platform at Pretiosum Ventures to find out what the future of Platform looks like, how founders should build a sales team and why honesty is non-negotiable.
Capital is no longer the differentiator for funds it once was. In the past, financial backing alone was enough to secure a spot in competitive funding rounds. Today, informed startups are more selective, seeking not just capital but the resources, connections, and expertise that a platform team can provide.
To understand what this role looks like in practice, we sat down with Anna Andersson, Head of Platform (and Chief of Staff) at Pretiosum Ventures. She shared insights into the evolving responsibilities of Platform professionals and explained why honesty is a non-negotiable in the founder-investor relationship.
With just three people on the team, Anna’s role spans everything from deal flow to enterprise sales strategy. On our short video call, Anna is warm, down-to-earth and transparent. She is dedicated to supporting the next generation of Platform leaders and she’s doing it all with her six-month-old baby on her hip.
About Pretiosum
The name comes from the Latin, “pretiosus”, meaning precious. Pretiosum is a pun on “pretty awesome”, and that’s exactly how it’s pronounced!
Pretiosum fund at a glance:
Fund Size: up to $20 million second fund Focus: B2B SaaS
Stage: Seed
Check Size: $300 - $500K
Geography: UK and US
Notable Portfolio Companies from fund I and II:
How did you get into the world of VC?
I have quite an unconventional story, but I think most people in VC do. I started my career at EY in a traditional consulting role and I then moved into tech consulting for four and a half years. I worked in different industries, everything from government projects to infrastructure utilities and the last few projects were in TMT with Fintech clients. I realised then that I liked working with early-stage founders. After EY, I joined Alpha Sights, which is an expert network connecting business leaders with investors and helped build the platform function there.
Between my role at EY and Alpha Sights, I met Yana Abramova, who is the founder and solo GP of Pretiosum. Before we worked together, we would meet up for coffee and brainstorm what we could do for Pretiosum. I wasn’t working with her back then but we managed to build a very cool relationship way before I joined the fund.
My current role is Head of Platform and Chief of Staff. We’re a small team, which means I’m involved in every aspect of our work—from supporting our portfolio companies and fundraising to leading our community-building efforts, content strategies, social media, and, of course, deal flow.
What is Pretiosum’s thesis?
We invest at the seed stage in the UK and US, writing checks between $300k-$500k. Our mission is to build an amazing (or “Pretty Awesome”!) portfolio where founders benefit from enterprise sales expertise and from the connections they can make within our network.
Our thesis focuses on The Future of Businesses, specifically targeting enterprise SaaS and financial infrastructure companies. These are businesses with the potential to transform the way big companies operate and include tools that redefine payroll, accounting, payments, and other critical business processes.
Currently, on Fund II we have a $20M fund backed by fantastic LPs who we’re proud to have onboard. Fund I, though small, was a remarkable success, and fully returned within two years with four exits.
To date, Pretiosum Fund II has seven investments, and the companies are preparing for their Series A rounds this year. We’re particularly passionate about helping UK companies scale to the US, providing hands-on support with enterprise sales—a critical area for many founders. I’m optimistic about the opportunities 2025 will bring, especially with the ongoing shifts in the economy creating new needs and opportunities.
Working for a female GP is also incredibly inspiring—especially given how few there are globally. It’s exciting to be part of a team making a real difference in the venture space!
What does the Head of Platform role look like at Pretiosum?
In the last few years, we’ve started noticing a lot of these Platform roles popping up in different funds. Maybe 10, or 20, years ago just giving the money was enough to get into the best deals, but it has changed massively. There's a lot of competition within funds and if you want to get allocation to the most exciting deals, you need to provide value beyond just capital. For us, this is helping with enterprise sales and helping startups expand into the US or do their next round there. We have a great network of investors in the US that we typically help with.
We focus on enterprise sales because we believe that helping get those large enterprise clients is typically what helps startups succeed at the early stage. We do a lot of introductions within our network of enterprises and we also have our advisory board. If a founder in our portfolio company has any questions or wants to do a strategy session or workshop, we’ll find an enterprise leader from a company within that space to help.
We grew tired of the typical networking events in dimly lit London bars, and from that, the idea for the annual Enterprise Founders Retreat was born. We believe that real communities should be built in person and at cool places. Let us know if you want to join the next one!
What qualities do you look for in a founder?
Ideally, it is a second-time founder. Of course, they don't have to have built a unicorn company before, but we need to see the entrepreneurial side. If not, then the founder needs to understand the niche and the product very well.
We also have a strong focus on personality fit. We don't tolerate arrogant founders, we like honest founders. For example, we don't like the type of messages that go, “I'm closing my round next week. You have to commit now and I don't have any allocation but I can squeeze you in”, and then the founder doesn’t close for the next six months. We're going to be honest with you, so you have to be honest with us.
What advice are you commonly giving founders right now?
At the early stage, a lot of the sales are founder-led. So what we see is that apart from the founder, no one else in the company can tell the story of the product. Of course, as you grow that's not sustainable. At this point, founders either hire their first SDR or Head of Sales. We advise founders not to hire a Head of Sales too early and not to hire someone from a big enterprise who has spent 20 years somewhere like Microsoft doing enterprise sales.
With no sales reps to help, that person is probably not going to be the right fit for you because they won’t have the resources that typically work with this kind of hands-on approach. That's typically what we do a lot of thinking around, who should you hire and at what stage.
You started a podcast called The Platform Effect, what is the premise of this?
I would like to simplify and promote the world of Platform. The issue is that most Platform roles are advertised within very close communities or the job descriptions aren’t accessible to outsiders. It’s a tough space to get into, but you don't necessarily need to have investment experience, you just need to be a great operator.
I want to open that black box and talk to different Heads of Platform at different funds, because we do things differently and we can also learn from each other. The podcast is for everyone who's trying to break into a Platform role and for platform professionals to learn from each other.
I have paused this at the moment to focus on work and my baby, but stay tuned!
What does the future of Platform look like?
At the beginning, it was helping founders with everything, but I think it's going to get more and more specialised. I think it's going to become a very strategic and laser-focused role. There is a joke in the platform community, which is asking startups “How can I help you?” Some founders might reply with 10 different things and unless you can do all 10 very well, you're not going to get the best reputation as a VC for your value add!
There's a fantastic community for anyone who's looking to break into a platform. It's called VC Platform. You can get anything from career advice to hiring people for your portfolio. I think a strong network is the most important thing in any role, but especially the Platform role.
We connect founders, investors and executives and it’s the quality of our network that sets us apart.
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