On the earth of startups, it’s not unusual to see expertise from profitable firms go on to discovered their very own ventures. That is notably evident in fintech in Europe, the place alumni from unicorns like Monzo, N26, Revolut and others have began a flurry of latest firms.
Andrena Ventures, a solo GP (solo common associate) fund based mostly within the U.Ok., needs to assist this startup manufacturing facility snowball impact by investing in such second-generation startups on the pre-seed and seed levels. To take action, it’s elevating $12 million from backers, together with a number of VCs and entrepreneurs. There was a primary shut, with a last shut deliberate for later within the yr.
The agency’s common associate, Gideon Valkin, informed Fintech that whereas he’ll fund expertise with roots in European and British fintech, Andrena itself is sector agnostic. He expects most of his portfolio firms to concentrate on different classes like AI, local weather tech and B2B enterprise options.
Andrena has already made its first funding: Nustom, an AI startup based by Monzo’s co-founder, Jonas Templestein, whom Valkin reported to when he labored at Monzo. Nustom hasn’t publicly launched but (which explains its succinct web site), nevertheless it already boasts a protracted listing of traders, together with OpenAI, Balaji Srinivasan, Garry Tan, Naval Ravikant and others.
Andrena’s participation in Nustom’s social gathering spherical displays the agency’s thesis and technique: More often than not, it is going to contribute between $100,000 and $400,000 to rounds that will likely be led by others. Nevertheless, Valkin hopes that his community will make it simpler for founders to lift Collection A rounds, probably from his restricted companions or from different traders he’s linked to.
The solo GP method
By leveraging his community and by writing comparatively small checks, Valkin hopes to realize entry to sizzling offers by which bigger funds might not be in a position or prepared to take part.
Having a small fund implies that small investments have the potential to return the entire invested capital; for a bigger agency, such investments wouldn’t transfer the needle or be definitely worth the threat. Valkin is aware of that facet of the equation: After leaving Monzo, he grew to become an angel investor himself and began working as a seed investor at VC agency Entrée Capital, which is now one in all Andrena’s restricted companions.
However managing a solo fund isn’t with out challenges, and never simply because the administration charges are proportionally smaller. As my colleague Rebecca Szkutak famous final yr, “rising managers have been on the identical curler coaster as startups for the previous couple of years.”
Valkin says he’s taken a major pay reduce, however he sees this as a plus: Founders can see him as a trusted associate who has equally as a lot at stake. “I feel that aligns us actually properly,” he mentioned. His worth proposition is to open up his community to founders and assist them elevate a Collection A spherical, whereas additionally counting on his operational know-how.
This combine is extra widespread within the U.S. than in Europe, the place many native VCs have by no means began an organization. However issues are altering, and angel investing is more and more widespread amongst European entrepreneurs, particularly in fintech.
One among Andrena’s LPs, Taavet+Sten, is an funding automobile run by Clever co-founder Taavet Hinrikus and Teleport co-founder Sten Tamkivi. Each are former Skype workers and have now formally launched an early-stage enterprise fund, Plural, with two different companions.
The truth that the pair selected to again Valkin might be seen as a validating sign for his thesis. With swarms of early fintech workers searching for their subsequent problem, the title that Valkin picked for his enterprise is becoming: Andrena is a kind of bee, and “pollination, in my thoughts, might be the most effective analogy for what I do,” he mentioned.
This story has been corrected to replicate the truth that the fund hasn’t reached its last shut but.
