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by Arnoldas Lukošius Published on lrytas.lt 2014-05-23 15:03“I hope to find a person or a company in Lithuania which will be interested in my investment. That’s why I am here,” says Debu Purkayastha in a sit-down interview with Lithuania’s largest daily “Lietuvos rytas”. Debu, who is in the capital city of Vilnius with a short visit, is a true legend in the business world. Born in Calcutta (India), he had become one of the most important people at Google.

For many years Debu had been working in the Silicon Valley, where he was running corporate acquisitions worth billions of dollars. Now he represents the London-based Octopus Investments Fund and is ready to reveal which factors are decisive in the selection of an investment project. Also, why Lithuania seems to him a much more promising country than some larger advanced economies.

- How did you discover Lithuania and what kind of winds have brought your sails here?

- First time I learned about Lithuania was when I learned about the existence of Skype. Tallinn, the capital of the neighboring Estonia, where Skype was originally created, all of the sudden popped up on the map, so I decided to visit that city. Somebody told me: why don’t you go further south and have a look at Lithuania too?

The Lithuanian investor Antanas Guoga invited me to come to his country. It was a very tempting invitation, because at that time our company was actively working with a London based start-up YPlan, founded by two Lithuanians. I met them while still working for Google; they told me they are from Lithuania, so I got curious what kind of a country is that.

In addition, I have got a very good friend who owns Wahanda, one of Europe's largest health, beauty and wellness sites. In 2012, he bought a Lithuanian company Salonium and speaks about Lithuania only in superlative terms. He says that this was his best investment ever, so he has already moved all his operations to Lithuania.

- And what did you actually find when you came here?

- Lithuania is home to a flock of talented people. Here, young people are still interested in studying engineering and the general level of education is very good.

The country is small, so it can be flexible and adapt pretty easily. The proper allocation of resources can set the course of the entire country’s development. Large economies tend to grow slowly and depend on their domestic market. Yours can be quickly restructured and reach global scale and competitiveness on the instant.

- A lot of people would say that Lithuanians are loyal, committed and highly skilled workers, who nevertheless prefer to follow instructions rather than impose their own rules. They say Lithuanians are too modest and unable to stand for themselves… What is your impression?

- You should listen to my friend Rytis from YPlan speaking!  Yes, it takes time to change, but no hurdle is too high if you choose the right means and the right direction. Therefore, money is only a small part of what our company offers. Bringing experience, giving advice, enhancing communication is also part of our investment strategy.

When I was growing up in India, the country was very poor, yet the people were heavily focused on education. Huge changes in the mentality have happened since. From the technological point of view, Lithuania is a very young nation. Yet, it has everything it needs to be successful.

Speaking of ambition: from my experience I can tell you that high ambition is inherent in only a very few people. The majority start their journey from a rather low ground, and their ambitions grow and evolve gradually. Lithuania needs one success story, one company which would achieve a worldwide success, and this fact would transform the entire nation. Such is the power of one good example.

- How do you select which project to invest in? Is it only your experience that allows you to make the right judgment?

- The investment fund which I currently represent mostly invests in advanced start-ups. Our single lot of investment may vary from zero to 5 million pounds, but we tend to continue investing if the project proves to be viable. The level of risk in our business is very high, but the return is also enormous, given that the risk pays off.

Speaking more broadly, the project selection is determined by many different parameters, which you gather while analyzing the data.

When a team of young people approach us with their project proposal, first we try to evaluate the team itself. What are their previous achievements, what products they have already created, what is their academic background and employment experience?

Evaluating the potential market of the suggested product is the next step. Can it grow both wider and deeper? ‘Wider’ means that the product may be sold on the global scale. ‘Deeper’ means that the product will be oriented towards one particular market but can claim a significant share of that market and become very important in the future.

Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Israel are small economies, so the products they make must be successful on the global scale.

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See full unabridged article here (in Lithuanian)

Photo by Vladas Ščiavinskas