One of the few joys of being an Editor-in-Chief is getting to meet and interview figures from the business world that intrigue me. One such person is Andrey Yashunsky, the Founder and CEO of Prytek.
At Prytek, which describes itself as a global business with an end-to-end Business Operating Platform-as-a-Service (BOPaaS) and SaaS offerings, Andrey has, in a short space of time, amassed a small empire. In the last three years alone (the company was formed four years ago), Prytek has successfully completed 180 deals, including 20 merger deals and founded 3 new technology companies. Most of which were under the radar (not the Finance Magnates one obviously).
The company has enjoyed 200% annual revenue and asset value growth, working with more than 250 clients worldwide and expanded to more than 1,200 employees across eight international offices including UK, Israel, Singapore, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Russia, India, and Cyprus. So, having seen and heard a little of Andrey myself, I was keen to speak to the impassioned CEO of a company that is making increasingly greater waves with each passing financial quarter.
Prytek: The Beginnings, Ethos and Strategy
Before setting up Prytek in 2017, having grown up in Russia and studied in Israel, Andrey held a range of senior positions across the fields of investor relations, private equity, asset management and venture capital. He worked as a Venture Partner at Da Vinci Capital, and he founded FMF Capital.
Andrey said he had set up Prytek “with a clear mission to design and build innovative technologies that will help firms to meet new challenges and regulatory requirements and to also allow them to take full advantage of technological capabilities to streamline their operations.
“Through the combination of cutting-edge technology and managed services headed by industry experts, Prytek builds businesses and ecosystems in the financial services, cyber & tech education and HR sectors. I’m proud to say that since our launch, we have spent more than $350m to acquire, build and develop deep technologies.
“We deliver our world-class solutions through BOPaaS (Business Operating Platform-as-a-Service), an integrated service offering that uniquely combines technology-based managed services with advice and management from leading industry experts.
“But, we are not only a multi-national technology group. At Prytek, we are working to redefine investment asset classes by creating a new and unique asset class that leverages the benefits of other common asset classes such as VC, PE and Corporate VC. We are planning to become a publicly traded company in 2022.
“Prytek is formed as a corporation which means it can build long term strategies and enterprises without the urgency to deliver short-term exits and can invest in technological companies in a wide range of stages: growth, early stage and late stage, when typically, funds are restricted to only one type.
“What is particularly unique about Prytek is the fact that the companies in each industry sector operate jointly in one ecosystem benefiting from cross-collaboration and the latest technologies to ensure fast growth and joint go-to-market efforts. This dramatically accelerates growth while the companies save costs.”
I asked how has the company strategy has evolved since 2017, and what changes in technology and/or Regulation have impacted upon Prytek’s vision since then?
“Our long-term strategy has remained the same, building technologies that can drive digital transformation across all industries, but in the short term, we have been able to respond quickly to new opportunities that have arisen in response to new government regulations. For example, our investment into Delta Capita last year was driven by a sharp rise in new banking regulations that smaller and medium-sized banks could not afford to meet while also investing in their technology and infrastructure.”
“Technology Will Never Be Able to Replicate Human Relationships”
The conversation then turned to the pandemic, and I asked Andrey what impact did the pandemic have upon him and Prytek
“Along with the rest of the world, the pandemic forced Prytek and its portfolio of companies to change the way that we work almost overnight.
“On a personal level, the pandemic confirmed quickly to me something I had always believed - technology will never be able to replicate human relationships. During the shift to work-from-home, technology enabled a seamless transition to remote operations. However, the energy of collaborating with colleagues and the buzz of real-life exchanges cannot be carried over in the same way on a Zoom call. For this reason, I’m very excited about the world going back to normal and being able to meet my teams and clients in the flesh.”
Human relationships are clearly important to Andrey. When he spoke of what key characteristics he looks for in an acquisition or investment, he said:
“For me, it’s important that there is a good personal vibe and that the company that I am partnering with can clearly demonstrate their operational knowledge and experience of the industry that they operate in.”
Prytek Future Plans and “I Cannot Retire”
Having reported on numerous Prytek acquisitions and investments at Finance Magnates, I was keen to glean some information about any upcoming future deals.
“At the moment we have over a dozen in deals in the pipeline that look set to be completed by the end of the year. However, these are not acquisitions, these are mergers. It’s very important to us that we do not simply buy a company, we join it and incorporate it into the Prytek group.
“At Prytek, we believe that tech-based managed services are the new gold, and we expect to continue to see this reflected in our year-on-year financial growth. We are continuously looking to expand into new areas of the market that could significantly benefit from BOPaaS and Prytek’s exceptional technology.”
One location that has been a fertile ground for deal-making has been Israel: the start-up nation. I asked Andrey why a country the size of Wales/New Jersey keeps on producing so many successful tech companies.
“You’re correct. The level of innovation and technology talent coming out of Israel is incredibly exciting. Why is it a hub for innovation? They have access to creative people and capital: the key ingredients to creating a successful company. We are proud to have a number of Israeli companies in our portfolio, and most recently we have invested $55m into TipRanks, an Israeli-based Fintech company designed to make investment decisions easier for retail investors.”
With time wrapping up, I wanted to ask Andrey that as someone who could retire comfortably tomorrow, what motivates Andrey Yashunsky?
“I cannot retire because money is not the goal. Value creation is the goal, and it is endless. I’m inspired by people who create value and are changing this world for the better. I am driven by my desire to build a recognised brand that will be used as a model for others.”
So, with the interview over and Andrey off no doubt to close yet another deal, I was left with just how driven this man is, It was impossible not to feel his energy, drive and passion. With Andrey at the helm, Prytek is a name that people will hear a lot more of in the future.
