Pitchdrive just announced the raise of its third fund of €40 million to invest in early-stage startups in Europe. They have received overwhelming interest from LPs, and had to overshoot their initial fund size by +30%, only accepting entrepreneurs and family offices.
Fund I and II’s successful results (the latter run together with later-stage VC Smartfin) have translated into extreme interest in their third fund, which has been oversubscribed within 2 months. What would have been a €30 million fund, has completed a first closing at €34 million and while commitments are 30% higher, will be hard capped at €40 million.
Pitchdrive was founded in 2020 from a syndicate of well-known Belgian angels such as Jonas Dhaenens (Team.Blue), Boris Bogaert, Wim Derkinderen and Koen Christiaens (Xpenditure/Rydoo), Lorenz Bogaert and Toon Coppens (Netlog/Twoo & StarApps) and Luc Verelst (DROIA invest). The Belgian investor professionalises investing with entrepreneur-driven expertise and startup support.
They understood the value of well-experienced entrepreneurs on the capable first-hand, but also the huge challenges in scalability and follow-on money. With this experience in mind, the founders built the European household name within pre-seed investing that is Pitchdrive today.
Startups have much higher success rates when they raise their early investments with experienced entrepreneurs, and move to traditional operator-led VC in later rounds. Pitchdrive uses their entrepreneurial expertise to provide pre-seed investments, highly personalized guidance support and network access to their portfolio.
The fund size allows for possibilities of participation in new rounds, giving the startups an immediate edge. This approach has proven to work. Of their 50+ investments, about 70% have already raised new rounds within 2 years and first exits are in progress. Their European-first approach has led to an active portfolio in 11 countries, 66% of the startups being located outside of Belgium.
Boris Bogaert, Managing Partner of Pitchdrive, said: “The €40 million investment fund will support 30 European startups over the next two years. Alongside the fund, Pitchdrive has established a new mentor network of 10 successful European entrepreneurs. This powerhouse network will provide personalized guidance and diverse expertise to propel Pitchdrive’s growing portfolio.”
Pitchdrive has invested in +50 startups over the last years through 2 funds, and has started deploying their third fund. Investments include Belgian Henchman, NineID, Otiv, Bizzy, Fixform, Introw, Oper Credits, Smooved, Brauzz, Picky, UK based Hotel Manager, Happl, Privasee, Greenspark, Dutch Luna, German FoodAmigos, Keaz, Turkish Salus Mental, and many more.
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- Source: https://www.eu-startups.com/2024/05/antwerp-based-vc-pitchdrive-raises-third-fund-of-e40-million-to-fuel-entrepreneur-driven-early-stage-investing/
