After another record high in both temperature and level of total VC investment in Europe, it is the perfect time to give a brief update on our growing portfolio and its latest additions, four brand-new investments in Germany, Canada and UK.
Enjoy the Acton newsletter. If you haven't received the last version, find it here.
Best regards,
Jan-Gisbert Schultze
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expertlead.
Looking for a top-notch developer, to get your IT projects done? We are excited to lead the Series A of fast-growing tech community expertlead. Founded 2018 in Berlin, the platform matches the best freelancers with corporate projects from corporate clients like Lufthansa, Deutsche Bank or Daimler. WiWo
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Knix. Very proud to announce our investment in the inclusive direct-to-consumer brand Knix Wear, created by women for women and made for all shapes, sizes and ages. Founded in Toronto and active in Canada and the US, Knix offers intimates for women and teens. In an interview with Forbes, founder and CEO Joanna Griffiths shares insights about Knix' mission, sustainable growth and female leadership: Forbes
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LemonOne.
The fully-automated platform offers commercial photos on-demand. Clients like Alibaba or Delivery Hero get access to a European network of professional photographers and benefit from high-quality imagery to boost conversion and online revenues. Happy to welcome the team of LemonOne to our portfolio. Tech.eu
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MPB.
Changing gear: started by a photography enthusiast in Brighton, the trading platform for high-end photo gear MPB just raised a 9m GBP Series C with Acton in the lead, to expand its end-to-end service in Europe and the US. From its new office in NYC and a German hub to open soon, MPB is now ready to scale. EU-Startups, The Times.
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Mambu. Europe's startups are beating Silicon Valley: fueled by mega-rounds and a total investment of $ 28bn in 2018, the tech ecosystem in Europe is growing faster than in US. Among the top 10 of Germany's future unicorn candidates is SaaS banking engine Mambu. The Berlin-based startup just announced its market entry in Brazil. Tagesspiegel.
iwoca. The fintech overtakes big banks in small business lending. With 12% of credit lines approved by all lenders, iwoca's market share already outperforms two of UK's "big five" HSBC (11%) and Santander (9%): Forbes. By nearly doubling its revenues, iwoca returned its first full year in the black. The Telegraph.
Cluno. Together with names like Susanne Klatten or Audi's first-ever female board member, Cluno's Co-founder and Managing Director Christina Polleti is on the German top list of the most powerful women in automotive. Automobilwoche.
Vimcar. Today meet's tomorrow - a joint initiative from BCG and the finance daily Handelsblatt to connect today's decision-makers with pioneers of the next generation, selected Vimcar Co-founder Andreas Schneider as one of Germany's thought leaders 2019. Read his interview in Handelsblatt.
Knix. 'It seemed like a natural fit' - in cooperation with Instagram influencer and national TV star Roxy Earle - founder of the #MySizeRox movement, to promote body positivity in Canada - our new portfolio company introduced its first-ever swimwear line Knix Swim in North America. Style Democracy.
COMATCH. Line-up with BCG, McKinsey and the like: in the national ranking of the largest strategy consulting firms in Germany, portfolio company COMATCH is best-rated by client referral and evaluation. As a crucial milestone in its business, consulting networks like COMATCH are now included in the annual survey by research platform Statista and covered by business weekly brand eins.
Koio. As a smart way for DTC brands to cross-market their products, collaborations usually bring together high-end and mass-market fashion. With its first "food-footwear" collab, our NYC investment Koio is breaking new ground and went viral in the US fashion scene: LA Times, FastCompany.
HomeToGo. ´Best In-House SEO 2019´ - world's largest search engine for vacation rentals and outstanding in SEO expertise: well-deserved, the Berlin-based company has once more been rewarded, this time by the European Search Award in Budapest and the annual Search Engine Land Award in Seattle.
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Q&A about investment trends:
"Question is not what's the next trend, but which company will still be successful in the market in five to ten years" - Frank comments on the status quo and future development in fintech and the impact of the ongoing transformation of work. FinancialYearBook
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Copenhagen. Next to Stockholm, Copenhagen is the most active Nordic startup ecosystem and benefits from a highly engaged community of business angels. In May, Julius joined The Investor Series and Denmark Demo Day in the Danish capital, to introduce Acton and get in touch with the local startup and investment scene.
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HRK19. E-Scooters, FoodTech and New Work - to check-out current trending topics in Germany's early-stage scene, David, Visiting Analyst Antonia and Julius joined the VC pitch sessions and met some of Berlin's newcomers at Heureka Startup and Tech Conference in June.
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Working in VC: "To drive digital innovation by supporting startups in establishing value for the long run" - German-speaking interview with David about his motivation to work in Venture Capital, about sourcing sustainable business models for Acton and our role as VC investor in the startup ecosystem. Lead-Digital
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Helsinki. To extend our network in the Nordics, Sebastian attended the Funding & Founding Track of the Arctic15 conference in June to talk about Acton's investment focus. Themed around #ActionMatters, the program matched Nordic & Baltic startups with international investors.
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NOAH19. 2 days, 6 people on the ground, 8 portfolio companies on stage, 87 pitch meetings and hundreds of talks to founders, fellow VCs and old friends - this was our wrap up of NOAHBerlin in June. For those who missed it, watch the founders of Cluno, HomeToGo (CEO Patrick Andrä pictured on stage), Mambu, sofatutor, Getsafe, expertlead, iwoca or Zenjob giving an update on their companies.
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STHLM Tech Fest (Sep 11), Stockholm: Sebastian
DLD Innovation Festival (Sep 16 - 19), Tel Aviv: Frank, Benedikt
LendIt Fintech Europe (Sep 26 - 27), London: Frank
Bits & Pretzels (Sep 29 - Oct 01), Munich: Sebastian, Fritz, Bettina
SaaStock (Oct 14-16), Dublin: Dominik, Julius
DLD Singapore Conference (Oct 22), Singapore: Christoph
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