A Decade in Review
This year, we want to approach our annual review a little differently than usual. The reason is simple – and very special to us: In 2026, we will celebrate our 10th anniversary!
When we started in early 2016, we had one thing above all: an idea, strong conviction, and probably more questions than answers. Our goal was to connect professional investors with ambitious startups, and we firmly believed that Europe holds enormous entrepreneurial potential.
What we didn’t yet know back then was how challenging, educational – and at the same time incredibly rewarding – this journey would become.
In the beginning, we pursued a different business model than we do today. Our primary focus was on building a digital platform designed to connect professional investors with startups for direct investments.
However, in 2017 we made the decision to abandon the original platform model and evolve our business into a classic venture capital fund.
What followed was anything but predictable:
Global crises, a pandemic, geopolitical tensions, and economic uncertainty. And yet – or perhaps because of it – we have grown tremendously as a team, as an organization, and as investors.
Although the operational start of our fund business was therefore not easy, a great deal has gone very positively for us over the past eight years since launching our first fund.
We could fill many pages with the developments and challenges of these years – and in part, we already have. You are welcome to revisit our previous annual reviews for a more detailed account.
The essence of this period can be summarized quite clearly:
⭐ Transformation in 2018 from a digital venture capital startup into a traditional venture capital firm
⭐ Reaching the milestone of over CHF 100 million in Assets under Management
⭐ For 2026, we are planning at least seven new investments, bringing our total number of investments to more than 45
⭐ By early 2026, more than CHF 500 million will have been invested into our existing portfolio companies
⭐ At the beginning of the year, we were invested alongside more than 150 other professional venture capital investors
⭐ To date, we have not experienced a single down round
⭐ So far, there have been only three write-offs
⭐ At the same time, we have already successfully realized five exits and made our first cash distributions
⭐ Of the 31 active portfolio companies with which we closed the year 2025, 27 are already generating revenues in the millions
⭐ Of those, 11 companies generated revenues of more than CHF 5 million in 2025
⭐ We are particularly proud that two portfolio companies have already achieved nine-figure revenues
⭐ One key metric highlights the strength of our portfolio especially clearly: Average revenue growth per company once again exceeded 80% in 2025
⭐ All of this makes us extremely optimistic about the future: For 2026, we expect eight portfolio companies to surpass the CHF 10 million revenue mark – including the two companies that are already generating nine-figure revenues.
The diverse experiences of the past ten years – stemming both from our own entrepreneurial challenges and from geopolitical and macroeconomic crises – have helped us mature significantly as a team and as a company, particularly with regard to our investment strategy, our focus, and the active support and guidance of our portfolio companies.
"EquityPitcher was one of the first institutional investors to place their trust in us and to support us, and they have confirmed this in every subsequent financing round that we have had, which we greatly appreciate!"
In summary, we can confidently say that over the past decade, we have evolved from a two-person startup, through a strategic pivot, into one of the most established venture capital firms in the DACH region.
And for us, the journey is only just beginning!
We firmly believe that startups in the DACH region have an outstanding future ahead of them. Beyond the necessary foundations such as a strong culture of innovation, sufficient capital, and supportive economic and political frameworks, one thing is clear:
It is time for Europe to respond to today’s geopolitical challenges with innovation “Made in Europe.”
We want to contribute to this mission – and continue on our path with humility and modesty. At the same time, our ambition is to identify the world-changing companies of tomorrow and actively support their growth, creating sustainable value for everyone involved – startups, investors, and the local economy.
With our exceptional team, our remarkable investors, and our outstanding startups, we already have everything it takes to successfully achieve this goal – with the aspiration of having even more to add to our annual review ten years from now.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has accompanied us over the past decade – and to all those who will continue to support us on this journey in the future.
