BILL LIAO, the low-profile technology investor who co-founded the German-based social network Xing, has been appointed European venture partner with SOSventures, which has $100 million under management.
Mr Liao will be looking for investments in the internet and social media spaces.
Australian-born Mr Liao has been an executive and investor in a number of successful technology ventures that have gone on to float on public markets.
Xing, a European network for professionals, floated in Germany in 2006 and was valued at over €150 million.
Mr Liao declines to say where he lives, citing the privacy of his family, but he is known to have an eco-friendly home in Ireland where he spends most of his time.
He founded the WeForest initiative in 2008, which aims to plant two trillion trees by 2020 to help restore the planet. It has planted almost 600,000 trees to date.
Mr Liao has also pledged not to fly until enough trees are planted to offset the damage done to the environment by carbon-based travel, a commitment which he concedes is “a pain in the ass”.
Mr Liao spoke at the Business of Social Media conference in west Cork yesterday. He said, as an investor in start-ups, social media has transformed his business.
“The reality is ideas are not worth very much, a start-up needs to have a great team,” said Mr Liao.
“To put that team together, you need to be able to tell a great story and social media enables you to do that.”
At every stage of a start-up’s life, from attracting early staff to supporting products, social media was changing the dynamics, he said. “It’s not a panacea, it’s just a tool, but it’s a tool with a lot of applications,” said Mr Liao.
This does not spell the death of traditional media, and he concedes that Xing made a significant investment of time and money in getting coverage in traditional outlets.
“New companies and products need buzz whether that comes from social media or otherwise,” said Mr Liao. “The competition won’t kill traditional media because people still want to see themselves in print.”
Mr Liao said he had invested in a number of Irish start-ups but would be stepping up his activity in his new role with SOSventures.
“The great talent of Ireland is storytelling and, if you combine that with the new social tools, there’s great opportunity for Ireland,” said Mr Liao. “We will be investing significant sums of money in the Irish economy and the doors are open.”
SOSventures is based in Kinsale, Co Cork, but has representatives in the US and Asia. It was founded by Sean O’Sullivan, an Irish-American who co-founded pioneering mapping software company MapInfo before selling to to Pitney Bowes.
Mr Liao is also a mentor with Startup Bootcamp Dublin, a new initiative to fast-track the commercialisation of new technologies. The initiative is headed up by Eoghan Jennings, the former chief financial officer with Xing.
Mr Liao said Startup Bootcamp would encourage early stage companies from around Europe to relocate to Dublin.
