European EdTech Startups

RVCHAIN on IACR

Recently, RVChain, a key research of Ritva, has been officially published on International Association for Cryptologic Research (or IACR).

About IACR

The IACR is a non-profit organization devoted to supporting the promotion of the science of cryptology. They organize and sponsor three annual flagship conferences, four annual workshops in specific sub-areas, and one symposium:

  • Crypto (flagship)
  • Eurocrypt (flagship)
  • Asiacrypt (flagship)
  • Fast Software Encryption (FSE)
  • Public Key Cryptography (PKC)
  • Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems (CHES)
  • Theory of Cryptography (TCC)
  • Real World Crypto Symposium (RWC)

RVChain on IACR

Published on IACR which is the largest venues for Cryptologic of Science, RVChain has proven one key point that is Ritva’s researches is superiority.
Learn more: iacr.org/news/index.php?next=14091

RITVA - AN INVESTMENT PROJECT FROM PARADISE

Ritva is a financial investment platform established in Tallinn, Estonia, EU by forward thinking professionals in finance and the investment field (Forex,commodities, etc.). And investing in startups is one of Ritva’s three key strategies. But why?

Times have changed for startup businesses and investors. Investing in startup companies was something that was reserved for those with a strong venture capital. However, investors today have gained access to a broader range of investment opportunities. Specifically speaking, more investors are investing their money in startups with a promising future. This has led to an array of benefits for both the business owner and the investor. With that being said, here are 4 reasons why Ritva invests in startup companies.

A Promising Future:
Funding the future is one of the most important things investors can do. This promotes an ever-evolving world by supporting new innovations that have the potential to be revolutionary. Investing in startups means that Ritva can be part of something bigger and allows Ritva to become more involved with the company’s process.

Startups Can Be Really Profitable:
With strategic planning, investing in startups can be a very profitable venture. Paying attention to companies who bring value and are developing new trends are some of the things which Ritva considers when investing in a startup company.

Job Creation and a Boosted Economy:
Another really great benefit of investing in startups is that Ritva has a hand in helping the economy grow in the right direction. Providing support to startup companies means that they are more likely to get off the ground, thus providing jobs for numerous people.

Portfolio Diversification:
It’s never good to put all your eggs in one basket, especially when it comes to investing. No business is secure, and diversifying Ritva’s portfolio means that Ritva can reduce its possibilities of taking a loss and increase the opportunity for a return on investment.

Today, investing in startup companies has become more promising and secure. Without startup businesses, we have no future. Innovative startup companies are propelling the world to the next level and investors have the opportunity to take part in this.

WHAT DOES RITVA’S VENTURE CAPITAL LOOK FOR IN A STARTUP? (PART 1)

Starting a successful business is not as simple as coming up with an idea and raising capital; VCs hears great ideas all the time. There are many factors that influence our decision to back a business.
Here’s our list of some of the top factors we - Ritva’s VC - consider with every investment opportunity.

Character of the business partners

The people behind an idea or company and, more importantly, their character is extremely important. You could have the best idea in the world, but it might never get off the ground with the wrong team in place. Ritva’s VC wants to see a strong leader with a clear vision for their business and a determination to succeed.

“Their reliability, honesty, potential for a long-term relationship and work ethic all come into play. A team who understands their roles and performs them with love and enthusiasm is very hard to beat. I have to feel completely confident in the abilities as well as the character of the team before investing,” according to one of our experts.

Capacity of the business partners

You can’t just fill startup roles for the sake of creating a team and launching. You need to make sure each person is highly qualified and possesses the ability to take the business to the next level. For example, a CFO with limited financial experience is a disaster waiting to happen, while a CMO with limited marketing experience is a severe handicap.

“There has to be a capable team with potential to grow the business and to carry it to high levels of success,” explains our expert. Experience and past track records play a major role in providing a little more confidence. Building the right founding team greatly increases the odds of securing VC money.

WHAT DOES RITVA’S VENTURE CAPITAL LOOK FOR IN A STARTUP? (PART 2)

Innovative Products with a Competitive Edge

Every new startup is the Uber of something, and it’s played out.
Let’s be honest here, not every product or business model can be classified as “innovative.” When you really break down what your company does, or what the product is, is it truly innovative? What makes your product different from others on the market? How is it better? How is it worse? or is your business model significantly different from what is out there already.

Our VC are not looking for another company that is doing the same thing as five others on the market. Think this through and make sure the differences of your business are important to the customers/clients and that this “competitive edge” is unique and strong enough to build a high quality business.

Communal benefit

Startups come and go, and while nobody has an exact percentage, most people put the startup failure rate between 80 and 90 percent. The few startups that experience massive success all solve a problem. For example, Facebook made communication easier; Airbnb made travel easier; and Uber made commuting much easier.

Our VC team likes startups that bring value to the community and to humanity in general. Do they solve a large-scale problem? Do they provide a benefit that a large percent of the population will desire to utilize? If the answer to those questions is yes, then they have a much greater chance of attracting interest.

WHAT DOES RITVA’S VENTURE CAPITAL LOOK FOR IN A STARTUP? (PART 3)

Long-term sustainability

Our VC team deploy millions of euros, wanting multiple times return on that investment. That is why we focus heavily on the long-term sustainability of an idea. If we don’t believe the shelf life is large enough, we simply won’t invest.

“It has to be something with longevity to make it worthwhile from an investor standpoint. A short-term idea might still be viable and profitable, but not typically from a VC point of view,” says our expert.

Financial outlook

We invest to make money. There is no other reason. It’s a business.

Ritva’s VC is no different from other VCs. We always look at the financial outlook of the business, determining when it will start becoming profitable. The deal needs to make financial sense and not tie up money too long. The goal is to recoup the initial investment and re-invest in another project.

Not every opportunity is going to produce overnight returns, and the risk versus the reward is always taken into consideration. While every deal is different, profit potential and the probability of a return on the initial investment is always analyzed heavily.

#ritva #introducingbroker #IB #cryptocurrency #forex #blockchain

A startup is a startup, does it matter what continent it’s on?

ON THE SELECTION OF INTRODUCING BROKER PARTNERS (PART 1)

Ritva’s short-term strategy for making profit is to leverage prestigiuos introducing broker (IB) partners, while strengthening our in-house IB group. And we are glad that this has been working effectively, making a huge source of income.

The very first piece that builds up this beautiful picture is our expecting meticulous picking the right IB partners. Our selection criteria are necessarily demanding, for we understand that choosing the right partner is crucial to our success. Among the several factors we take into consideration, the following three are of greatest significance:

  1. Ethical business record
  2. Length of time in business
  3. Commissions

ON THE SELECTION OF INTRODUCING BROKER PARTNERS (PART 2)

  1. ETHICAL BUSINESS RECORD

The brokerage groups we collaborate with should have consistent and very high moral integrity. The groups should always have our best interests in mind and resolve any customer’s problems in a fair and equitable way.

:round_pushpin:Ritva pays great attention to assuring if there are any disciplinary actions against a broker we are considering. If there are, our experts will have to ask the broker to explain the circumstances before dismissing them from our list. According to our experts, IB groups with a long business history may have a few disagreements or complaints with clients, which are addressed in arbitration, and hence a reparations record is kept. It must be cautioned however, this record may not necessarily reveal the integrity or lack thereof of a firm or an individual. A firm may have a clean record because it is newly registered, but be run by principals and brokers that have entire careers being associated with unethical and disreputable firms that have been permanently barred, suspended or expelled from the industry.

There are so many different cases in the industry. Therefore, it took us 3 years (since 2016) for observation and then decided which IB groups is best for cooperation. This is truly a time-consuming process.

ON THE SELECTION OF INTRODUCING BROKER PARTNERS (PART 3)

  1. LENGTH OF TIME IN BUSINESS

Most new businesses go out of business in the first 5 years of operation. The attrition rate for IB groups seem to be higher – many lasting less than 3 years. Therefore, we always consider IB groups that have been in business at least 5 years. By this time they have proven their viability and have enough experience to deal with the day-to-day operations associated with the business.

Although the length of time in the industry is not always an accurate way of judging whether an IB group is promising or not, it’s the safest and fastest method to easily exclude an unqualified IB group out of a list.

#ritva #introducingbroker #IB #cryptocurrency #forex #blockchain

ON THE SELECTION OF INTRODUCING BROKER PARTNERS (PART 4)

  1. COMMISSION

Because Ritva’s income in this period of time is based on IB groups’ commission, the more commission IB groups earn, the higher profit Ritva gets. New traders may choose to use a discount broker, and due to inexperience when placing orders, lose more due to poorly placed orders and errors than the money “saved” with the lower commission rate. Brokers get paid for the service they provide.

An experienced broker understands the markets and can interpret the market’s changing dynamics to determine the best price and order type to use. It takes experience and intensive monitoring to “work” an order…to know where the market really is, if there is enough volume to get filled – even if the bid-offer price (that changes constantly) is fair, keeping the client updated, etc. The better fills alone could more than make up for the increased full-service commission rate. Therefore, an experienced IB/IB groups are always Ritva’s number one choice.

Again, we intentionally set up selection criteria that are rather strict and stringent. This helps filter out a significant number of unqualified IBs in the market, leaving us with the good seeds.

RITVA BLOCKCHAIN APPLICATIONS (PART 1)

While the world continues to contain the COVID-19 outbreak and individuals have to shelter at home, how may blockchain technology help at the moment?

The protopia that innovative technological progress promises thus far is coming ever closer at a surprising pace. Unseen challenges, though, have surfaced amidst the COVID-19 virus outbreak. The pandemic has exacerbated and destabilized the world in just the last few months, putting in danger not only lives, but economic boundaries, well-established global businesses, and the very essence of the world’s financial system.

#ritva

RITVA BLOCKCHAIN APPLICATIONS (PART 2)

The coronavirus crisis is showing us it is high time that we should move our works online. More specifically, white collar workers are now allowed to work remotely, consumers are more familiar with placing purchase orders via the internet, patients are seeing their doctor through video call, and digital currencies are gradually replacing fiat.

The technology likely to have the greatest effect on the future of the world economy has arrived. The dotcom revolution brought us the Internet. The Internet as we know it is great for collaboration and communication, but is deeply flawed when it comes to commerce and privacy. The next revolution, namely blockchain technology, facilitates peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions without any intermediary such as a bank or governing body. Keeping the user’s information anonymous, the blockchain validates and keeps a permanent public record of all transactions.

RITVA BLOCKCHAIN APPLICATIONS (PART 3)

Although many opportunities for the blockchain require a digital currency, Bitcoin is one of the smartest application of this great innovation in computer science. Bitcoin has utilized P2P authentication technology, exchanging value without any third party intervention for nine years without any problems. The blockchain is what makes this possible. Where centralized servers carry the risk of intentional tampering and cyber attacks, blockchains can eliminate these problems, making it a revolutionary technology indispensable for the future.

The blockchain can hold any legal document, from deeds and marriage licenses to educational degrees and birth certificates. Call it the World Wide Ledger. It enables decentralized autonomous organizations, decentralized government services, and transactions among things. The Internet of Everything needs a Ledger of Everything: the blockchain is a truly open, distributed, global platform that fundamentally changes what we can do online.

RITVA BLOCKCHAIN APPLICATIONS (PART 4)

Ritva, as we mentioned on the Roadmap via the website, is also targeted to implement Blockchain technology in investment and fund management so as to improve services. Our platform is rapidly expanding and going to provide a P2P network which interconnects Peers sharing resources among each other without the use of a centralized administrative system. Success in investment is not serendipity, let Ritva help you so that nothing could thwart your plans.

All of this is easier said than done but the outcome is the future and its here to stay!

VENTURE CAPITAL SUPPORT IS GOOD FOR STARTUP (1)

There are a number of good reasons why a startup should consider venture capital (VC) support.

  1. GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT

This is frequently cited as a major selling point by entrepreneurs. VC investors understand the sectors they invest in intimately – they are experienced in the field and know where things are headed. VC in generals typically comprises of seasoned players that have built similar companies in the past. They bring the experience and know-how to the table, benefiting startups significantly. Let us take ourselves, i.e.,

Ritva VC, as an example. Our experience in developmental cycles of technological services, and insight into state of the art research can definitely help steer the product/service toward great adoption with high valuez.

VENTURE CAPITAL SUPPORT IS GOOD FOR STARTUP (2)

There are a number of good reasons why a startup should consider venture capital (VC) support.

  1. CONNECTIONS BRINGS OPTIONS

Having a good idea is one thing, but knowing where to take it can be challenging. For example, Ritva Venture capitalist with extensive network easily create synergies across companies and provide entrepreneurs with access to top talent. Options are empowering and the connections can create a snowball effect that can facilitate rapid growth.

VENTURE CAPITAL SUPPORT IS GOOD FOR STARTUP (3)

There are a number of good reasons why a startup should consider venture capital (VC) support.

  1. PATIENT CAPITAL

Sometimes it’s not about being first to market, it’s about getting your product or service right or even waiting for the right timing. Public money isn’t patient and neither is bootstrapped money when rent is due. Venture capital investment, on the other hand, is frequently referred to as patient money.

Like other VCs, Ritva VC understand that startups need time to grow. Milestones are set and a business plan is often built three-plus years out. This gives the entrepreneur time to expand at a reasonable pace without the unnecessary pressures.

VENTURE CAPITAL SUPPORT IS GOOD FOR STARTUP (4)

There are a number of good reasons why a startup should consider venture capital (VC) support.

  1. BETTER PERFORMANCE

:round_pushpin:All of these arguments lead to one important reality that most entrepreneurs care the most about: performance. The facts speak for themselves. Venture-backed companies significantly outperform non VC-backed companies. According to a 2019 venture capital report released by the CVCA and BDC, over a five-year period, VC-backed companies have almost two and a half times higher sales growth, almost 50 percent greater employee growth and have 15 percent higher survival rates after five years.

While startups may or may not achieve these vaunted levels, with the guidance, support, connections and sheer level of funding available, it is very likely that acquiring VC investment at some point in their trajectory will improve their business’ chances.

POST COVID-19: THE SIGNIFICANT GROWTH OF EDTECH (1)

As the number of COVID-19 cases continue to rise, schools have been shut and all academic operations have been temporarily suspended, thus causing an unpredictable delay in beginning the new academic session and continuing academic tasks. Considering the current situation, EdTech companies have come up with various online solutions to ensure that academic operations are carried out without any impediments.

However, the question that is being discussed is, will digital learning still be encouraged after the lockdown is lifted or will EdTech companies come up with a different model?

POST COVID-19: THE SIGNIFICANT GROWTH OF EDTECH (2)

Given that the focus has been on offline education, it is believed that a combination of online and offline learning may rule the education system. Considering the benefits of this approach for both students and teachers in terms of skill development, personalized learning, 21st-century pedagogy and effective utilization of time, educators and schools may adopt it.

In the long run, this approach will help teachers design pedagogies that help shift the focus from rote learning to interactive syllabus and holistic development of students. This can only be achieved by partnering with EdTech service providers, who aim to bring in disciplined online education.