In our new article series, we introduce the most exciting venture capital firms that are open for LP investments to our family office network. The article belongs to our exclusive single-family office guidebook, where we give guidance on the most relevant topics for newly established and already existing family investment vehicles.
In this article, we talked to Earlybird Venture Capital, a leading early-stage investor from Germany, who already contributed to our “family office investments in challenger banks” article.
Familyofficehub.io (FO): Briefly describe your focus: in which kind of startups are you investing, where is your geographical focus, what’s your average ticket size?
Earlybird: Since 1997, Earlybird has invested in all development and growth phases of technology companies – generally leading their Series A rounds. What the portfolio companies share in common are strong founding teams who have big ambitions to make a difference globally, who address large markets, who plan to scale up, and who use technology in a visionary way to solve real-world challenges.
Earlybird offers portfolio companies not only financial resources but also strategic support and important access to an international network and capital markets. Earlybird has developed into three autonomous, dedicated and specialized teams, focusing on different geographies and sectors: Digital West (GSA, Nordics, UK, Benelux, France & Southern Europe), Digital East (ICT investment in Eastern Europe & Turkey), and Health (across Europe in digital health, medical devices, diagnostics and biopharma.) Typical ticket sizes are 1-10 Million euros.
FO: What are exciting companies in your portfolio – and why?
Earlybird: A 2021 prediction by the Financial Times-backed-news source Sifted EU, ranked 6 of Earlybird’s portfolio companies as ‘ones to watch’. Across industries such as SpaceTech and FinTech those include N26, Isar Aerospace, EyeEm, Getsafe, Bitwala and Upvest. Other game-changing companies attracting international attention are UiPath and Aiven. In Health, the portfolio companies bring patient outcomes into focus; Oviva is lauded as Europe’s leading behavior-change company while Germany’s newspaper Handelsblatt categorized Noscendo’s diagnostic innovation as a 2020 Pioneer. The most recent investment into Energy Robotics indicates the significant cross-industry potential of mobile inspection robots.
FO: Why should a family office invest in Earlybird Venture Capital as LP?
Earlybird: With 1.5 billion euros under management, seven IPOs and 30 trade sales, Earlybird has a trusted track record as one of the most successful venture capital firms in Europe. Although 2020 was a challenging year globally, Earlybird experienced the best performance year-to-date. Beyond delivering financial returns, the firm takes entrepreneurial responsibility for the environment as well as society, striving to positively contribute towards solving the global climate crisis and running operations in a more eco-sustainable way. Offsetting residual carbon-footprint sets an expectation for the portfolio companies. Investing in Earlybird signals awareness of both optimal returns and impactful choices. Get in touch!
FO: Thanks for your time!
Offices: Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Istanbul
Website: https://earlybird.com
Picture Source: Claudio Schwarz
