Czech VC single family office opens up to third-party investors

ZAKA, a Czech single family office, originally served as an investment vehicle for entrepreneurs Ján Kasper and Peter Zálešák. Zalesak built the e-commerce company Nay Elektrodom, which operates in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Kasper is a successful entrepreneur in the energy, mobility and retail sectors. Their family office, ZAKA, is an active pre-seed and seed investor, active in Central Europe, the US, the UK and the Baltics. The fund has been an active investor in recent years, having invested in more than 50 start-ups from 23 countries. There have also been 2 exits. Portfolio companies include Eigen Therapeutics (biotech startup focused on cancer therapies), Yenmo (fund loans) and SharpGrid (marketing technology).

Opening the single family office for third-party LPs

Now, the family office has raised €10.5 million from third-party limited partners (LPs) to accelerate its deal flow. With the additional funding, the family office will invest in more startups per year, following its €250-300k tickets in the B2B software, biotech and healthtech sectors. Commenting on the increase, the head of ZAKA’s investment committee said, “We saw great potential in expanding the fund and increasing the average ticket size to secure a better position in high quality deals.

Family offices opening up for external LPs is a common pattern in the European family office world. For instance, also Munich-based single family office Reimann Investors accepts non-family investors for its funds.

Article Source:  Sifted
Picture source: Anthony Delanoix