Edition: December 2016

Welcome to the first edition of the Acton Perspectives, providing you with current insights into our portfolio. Find out about new investments, see the latest developments at our portfolio companies, and get updates on our day-to-day activities. Stay warm and enjoy the last days of the year.

Best wishes from wintery Munich,
The Acton team

THE ACTON ANGLE

The new grocery

GROWTH. DRIVEN BY REASON. Our claim reflects our investment strategy and ethos as venture capitalists. The venture capital industry is prone to inducing a substantial amount of mystery disguising the reasoning behind investment decisions. With Acton Perspectives we shed light on an industry that deserves equal credit for its profound rationality and for its myth-making mastery. Following our recent lead investment in Canadian meal-kit startup Chefs Plate and our long-term engagement with Swedish pioneer Linas Matkasse we take a closer look at the online grocery industry.

A seismic shift in eating habits

The way we eat and shop for groceries is undergoing a seismic shift. Grocery retailing is a multibillion dollar market and the largest retail category. Online services disrupting the grocery food industry have been hailed as the market opportunity of the decade. Given its size, it’s not surprising that the food tech sector attracted a whopping $5.6 billion in funding last year. But the market is fiercely fought over, marked by strong entry barriers and complex characteristics.

Meal-kit startups like Linas Matkasse and Chefs Plate form part of the rapidly growing food tech industry. The meal-kit industry has grown over 500 per cent since 2014. US consumer research firm Technomic has estimated that the meal-kit market is worth $1 billion worldwide and could reach $10 billion in revenues by 2020. Read more...

READ MORE

PORTFOLIO NEWS

DEALS.

Lead investment: $6 million (CAD) for Chefs Plate. We are delighted with our investment in Canada's market leader in the meal-kit business. In just under two years, Chefs Plate has grown from four employees to more than 125, to accommodate delivering 100,000 meals a month. Here’s an interview with founder Jamie Shea: BNN Feature

Follow on investment: £46 million in equity and debt for iwoca, one of Europe’s fastest growing fintech companies. iwoca is transforming small business lending by offering flexible credit facilities to the millions of SMEs that are underserved by banks. The company will use the funds to grow across Europe. Business Insider

INSIGHTS.

Everyone talks about fintech upstarts and banks. Portfolio company iwoca is one step ahead and has been chosen by NatWest to offer access to financing for small businesses. The Financial Times has more insights: FT

In case you are looking for a great place where you can spend your next holiday, HomeToGo has quietly launched its first ever mobile app over the summer (iOS only for now, Android to follow). Download the App here or visit their website.

Interested in tough competitors and milestones of a startup? If you want to know more about HomeToGo’s general strategy, read an interview with co-founder Wolfgang Heigl here: Internet World Business

Consultants-turned-entrepreneurs: German Manager Magazin profiled the COMATCH founding team in its latest edition. COMATCH is an online service which matches companies with independent top management consultants: Manager Magazin

ACTON IN THE NEWS

ON STAGE.

Our Nordics expert Sebastian Wossagk on stage at the Venture Capital Forum. Sebastian talked about our investments in Nordic startups and the wider VC ecosystem in Scandinavia.

ON STAGE.

Fritz Oidtmann at Bits & Pretzels Founders Festival, sharing some words of entrepreneurial advice and introducing our investment strategy.

TWITTER.

Never trust a prototype - a decade after launch we’ve decided to join Twitter. Follow us at: https://twitter.com/ActonCapital

ON STAGE.

Christoph Braun spoke at Deutsches Eigenkapitalforum in Frankfurt about the bottleneck in growth financing.

FINTECH FRONTLINERS.

Frank Seehaus shared his financial technology expertise with the Wall Street Journal and commented on the topic “German Bankers Turn Tech Entrepreneurs”. The Wall Street Journal

SLUSH.

German newspaper Handelsblatt interviewed Sebastian Wossagk at Slush conference in Helsinki. Sebastian talked about recent investments, his investment philosophy and future fields of interest. Handelsblatt

ACTON TEAM

Dr. Aline Vedder

COMMUNICATION IS KEY.

We are pleased to announce that Aline Vedder has joined us as Director of Communications. Prior to her current role she managed PR activities for several Rocket Internet startups. Aline completed her Masters at the London School of Economics (LSE) and holds a PhD degree from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich.

UPCOMING CONFERENCES.

Fritz & Aline will attend Capital on Stage in Munich, Dec 8.

The team will attend DLD in Munich, Jan 15-17, 2017.

* * *

Any questions, thoughts or comments? Specific topics that you’d like us to comment on? Feel free to drop us an email or to stop by our Munich office for coffee.

ABOUT. PORTFOLIO. TEAM. NEWS. BLOG. CONTACT.

Acton Capital Partners GmbH - Widenmayerstr. 29 - 80538 Munich - Germany

Want to change how you (<<E-Mail Address>>) receive these emails? You can update your preferences, subscribe or unsubscribe from this newsletter.