If you were a sole general partner (GP) in the VC industry in 2020 or ’21, you might be in danger today since many of the values from that time period have plummeted. Many European businesses, who are finding slim pickings from multi-partnered VC funds in current bearish market, see the Solo GP model as a more feasible route ahead now that it has finally arrived in Europe after years of existence in the US.
For example, Hypernova, a $25 million fund of funds that started last year to finance Solo GPs across Europe, is capitalising on this trend.
The movement is noticeable.
In 2017, Underline Ventures was established in Romania under the leadership of ecosystem heavyweight Bogdan Iord ache. Nichole Wischoff’s Solo GP business, Wischoff Ventures, raised $20 million in a second fund in the United States last year. For example, Angel List alumnus Wing Vasi ksiri in Asia raised $14 million in AUM this year.
Robin Haak, a longtime fixture of Europe’s tech sector, just joined Solo GP.
He’s starting Robin Capital, which he claims has raised $3 million in its first close and hopes to raise another $10 to $20 million in its final close. The company plans to seek finance at the angel, pre-seed, and seed stages.
The man who started Jobs potting (which was bought by Smart Recruiters Inc. of San Francisco in 2017) is a first-check investor in N26 and has done over 20 additional investments, such as Frontify, Algolia, and Aircall. Before joining the team at Revaia Growth One, Haak worked as a General Partner elsewhere.
Beam, Kombo, and M2 are the three newest additions to Robin Capital’s portfolio.
Haak informed me that his “network of hundreds of operators who are sourcing and servicing” consists of thousands of people. Fabrice Grinda (an early investor in Alibaba), Julian Blessin (Co-Founder of TIER Mobility), and Jerome Ternynck (Founder & CEO of Smart Recruiters) are just a few of the value-added Limited Partners I have on board.
Haak says his fund “focuses on outstanding entrepreneurs, software subscription businesses, primarily in Europe, Israel, and the US.” The focus will be on the pre-seed to seed phase.
He told me in an email that my direct involvement in these regions informs our investment strategy across Europe, the United States, and Israel.
I’ve been a part of the foundations of many successful businesses, including the American Smart Recruiters, the French Revaia, the German Jobs potting, the Israeli Axel Springer, and the Nordic Slush. The DACH area is expected to remain a strong basis for us given our headquarters are in Berlin,” he said.
If a solo GP raises money at the correct moment, they may grow to significant size.
In 2018, under Ullas Naik’s direction, Streamlined Ventures raised $140 million in capital for its two newest funds, increasing the overall amount of funds managed to eight and the total amount of assets under management to around $325 million.
