Pitchdrive recently revealed that it has raised €40 million for its third fund, which will be used to finance European early-stage companies.
Due to the successful outcomes of Funds I and II, their third fund, which has been oversubscribed in less than two months, has attracted a great deal of interest. Initially scheduled to be a €30 million fund, it has now closed at €34 million and even though commitments have increased by 30%, the fund will be hard-capped at €40 million.
A group of well-known Belgian angel investors, including Luc Verelst (DROIA invest), Lorenz Bogaert and Toon Coppens (Netlog/Twoo & StarApps), Wim Derkinderen, Koen Christiaens and Jonas Dhaenens (Team.Blue), formed Pitchdrive in 2020. With startup assistance and entrepreneur-driven knowledge, the Belgian investor elevates investing to a professional level.
The group understood the importance of well-experienced entrepreneurs but also the tremendous hurdles to scalability and follow-on money. Keeping previous experience in mind, the founders created Pitchdrive, a pre-seed investment household name in Europe today.
When startups get their initial funding from seasoned business owners and transition to typical operator-led venture capital in subsequent rounds, their success rates are significantly higher. Pitchdrive leverages their experience in entrepreneurship to offer pre-seed funding, individualized advisory services and portfolio network access.
Because of the size of the fund, entrepreneurs have the opportunity to participate in subsequent rounds, which gives them an immediate advantage and the strategy was effective. With an active portfolio spanning 11 countries and 66% of the startups based outside of Belgium, its European-first strategy has been successful. Through two funds, Pitchdrive has invested in more than fifty startups in the last two years and is currently deploying its third fund.
