Golden Egg Check has announced that their venture capital fund GEC Capital has raised 2.5 million euros. 819 Capital Partners is one of the new cornerstone investors in the fund.
GEC Capital has a portfolio of 14 startups, mostly Dutch software companies. With the new capital injection from 819 Capital Partners and several (former) tech entrepreneurs and investment companies, the fund now has 2.5 million euros available to invest. Before the summer, Golden Egg Check aims to close the fund at 5 million euros. GEC Capital aims to make a total of 30 to 35 investments in tech companies over three years.
Distinctive about the investment strategy of GEC Capital is the co-investment model, in which investments are always made together with a specialized venture capitalist or with a group of relevant angel investors.
Thomas Mensink, partner at GEC Capital, explains how this works: “We cleverly hitch a ride on their knowledge and expertise. At the same time, we bring in our network of investors so that our portfolio companies get faster and better access to (follow-on) capital. We outsource most of the paperwork to the lead investor and don’t need board seats either. In this way we can do many deals with a small team and ensure an optimal spread for our investors.”
Investors contributing capital and knowledge to GEC Capital include 819 Capital Partners, Koejans Capital, Arjé Cahn (ex-Hippo), Geert-Jan Smits (ex-Flinders, author “The start-up scorecard”) and Investeringsfonds Groningen.
819 Capital Partners is one of the new cornerstone investors in the fund. In addition to the investment, Golden Egg Check and 819 Capital Partners will intensify their cooperation.
Wim Smit, Managing Partner at 819: “Like GEC, we believe in an ecosystem approach. However, 819 opts for active management with larger investments in fewer companies. Collaborating with GEC’s team allows us to monitor in-depth so that we can move forward with the most promising companies. With this approach, we have the best of both worlds.”
Jan-Willem Tusveld (founder Visymo, Koejans Capital): “The team has a huge network of both startups and investors. The strategy of co-investing with top VCs appealed to me and fits with my preference to invest in startups as widely as possible. In addition, I like to encourage quality initiatives from the region and it gives me great satisfaction to see the team make strides.”
Jan Martin Timmer, Fund Manager at Investment Fund Groningen, explains why IFG invested in GEC Capital I: “In addition to the investments in Groningen that the fund plans to make, we also see the value of the network of international investors that GEC can bring to our region.”
819 Capital Partners, Koejans Capital and IFG will serve on the Advisory Board to provide GEC Capital with further advice on portfolio management, M&A and strategy.
