Funds and Startups we Met in Slush 2024

Funds and Startups we Met in Slush 2024

This is a list of funds and startups we met in Slush 2024 on 20th of November 2024. 

For the journey song of this experience see here.

The intention behind creating this list to weave people who could be interested in meeting with each other, and share a transparent look into how we relate to startup ecosystem.

Feel free to reach out to us for introductions or questions.

 

Funds:

Siena Secondary Fund 

Siena Secondary Fund focuses on providing liquidity to early investors, founders, and employees of high-growth startups in the Nordics and Central and Eastern Europe. By specializing in secondary transactions for companies in their scaling phase, they offer a unique opportunity to invest in some of the region's most promising startups, almost like creating an "index fund" of high-potential private ventures.

Since Siena Secondary Fund focuses on startups closer to an exit, their fund term is shorter—just 7 years compared to the typical 10-12 years. This streamlined timeline aligns with their strategy of investing in scaling companies, allowing quicker returns for their investors.

I shared with the fund’s partner that their secondary approach could be highly valuable for impact investors who provide catalytic funding to early-stage impact startups. By enabling an earlier release of catalytic funds, this model could allow those funds to be reallocated more quickly to other projects, amplifying their potential for creating additional impact.

 

Systemiq Capital

Systemiq Capital is a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage climate technology investments, targeting transformative solutions to address climate and biodiversity challenges. What sets them apart is their integration with Systemiq, a leading climate consultancy, which provides their portfolio companies with access to unparalleled expertise, networks, and strategic insights. This synergy allows Systemiq Capital to not only fund high-potential climate tech startups but also actively support their growth by leveraging systemic knowledge to drive impactful and scalable solutions. Their unique approach bridges investment and systemic change, amplifying their contributions to a sustainable future.

During our discussion, George shared about Wildfarmed (https://wildfarmed.com/), that aims to transform lives and landscapes by producing delicious, healthy, and sustainable products. Their approach focuses on growing wheat in soil rich with biodiversity, partnering with over 100 growers to restore ecosystems and promote sustainable food production. 

He shared insights about their portfolio company, Basecamp Research. They have built the world's largest protein code database and use their unique data to train a proprietary stack of graph learning algorithms. This approach enables the discovery of previously inaccessible proteins and accelerates the development of sustainable solutions across various industries, including pharmaceuticals, nutrition, agriculture, and consumer goods.

We shared our intention to establish a backbone organization for field building and inquired if their consultancy arm would be interested in forming a partnership in Turkey or the surrounding region. George responded by mentioning their collaboration with Palladium on a project in Africa and suggested that reaching out to Palladium could be a valuable step in exploring potential synergies for such an initiative.

George further shared his personal journey, transitioning from management consultancy to fieldwork in Africa focused on biodiversity, which deepened his understanding of systemic change. He emphasized that the foundation of every successful backbone organization lies in leaders with operational expertise—solution-oriented, creative individuals who thrive in fieldwork and are passionate about driving tangible impact.

 

Transition VC

We met with Transition VC, one of the three funds that host the annual Climate Summit at Slush. This summit, the only official Slush Side Event dedicated to sustainability, brings together leading founders, investors, and thought leaders to tackle the pressing challenges of climate change.

Transition Global Management Limited, based in London, is an investment firm specializing in early-stage technology companies that are developing ambitious solutions to the climate crisis. What sets them apart is their ability to leverage deep climate expertise and networks to drive systemic change in critical areas, offering their portfolio companies unparalleled access to resources and strategic support.

 

Marvelous

Marvelous is a German venture capital firm dedicated to pioneering climate impact through investments in European early-stage DeepTech startups.  Their mission is to support ventures aiming to reduce 100 million tons of CO₂ equivalent emissions per year by 2040, while positively impacting at least one additional planetary boundary.

They provide hands-on operational support through a team of entrepreneurs, industry partners, and scientists, ensuring startups excel. Beyond funding, Marvelous acts as a catalyst for innovation, offering access to science partnerships, venture creation, matchmaking, grants, and R&D facilities to amplify impact and success.

 

Ascension

Ascension Ventures is a UK-based early-stage VC firm focused on tech and impact-driven startups, with over 150 investments since 2015. Recognized as the UK's most active impact investor, they prioritize businesses addressing societal challenges such as the poverty premium and childhood obesity. Their team of experienced entrepreneurs provides founders with mentorship, resources, and networks to scale effectively. With a strong focus on institutional impact funds, Ascension combines financial returns with meaningful social impact, solidifying their position as a leading impact investor.

We asked Ascension Ventures about their perspective on the inequalities between the Global South and Global North. While they shared insightful thoughts on these disparities and their implications, they emphasized that their primary focus remains on addressing systemic challenges within the UK, where their impact-driven investments are currently concentrated.

 

Auxxo Ventures

Auxxo Ventures, founded in 2019 by Gesa Miczaika and Bettine Schmitz, is a German venture capital firm dedicated to supporting female-led startups. 

Their flagship initiative, the Female Catalyst Fund I, launched with a volume of €19 million, focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage investments in companies with at least one female co-founder holding a significant equity stake. 

Auxxo distinguishes itself by fostering equitable participation of women as founders and investors in venture capital, providing not only financial backing but also a supportive community characterized by intimate relationships and a high willingness to help each other out. 

This mission-driven approach addresses the underrepresentation of women in the startup ecosystem, aiming to create a reality where values of caring, authenticity, vulnerability, and trust govern how companies are built.

We shared information about the female founded startups in our porfolio: Cauli, Goodsted and Goodwild, with them.

 

Hoxton Ventures

Hoxton Ventures is a London-based early-stage venture capital firm specializing in European startups with global ambitions. 

They distinguish themselves by adopting a Silicon Valley-style approach, taking risks on visionary founders and products, and often writing the first significant check a company receives. 

Their investment strategy is deliberately anti-thematic, allowing them to back disruptive technologies across various sectors. 

While not exclusively focused on impact investing, Hoxton Ventures' portfolio includes companies addressing significant societal challenges, reflecting their openness to supporting ventures with substantial impact potential.

 

Repeat Ventures

One of the most intriguing funds we encountered was Repeat Ventures, a firm that exclusively invests in serial entrepreneurs embarking on their next ventures. Through decades of data analysis, they’ve identified that repeat founders statistically outperform first-time founders. Rather than focusing on a specific geography, technology, or industry, Repeat Ventures zeroes in on a particular type of individual—entrepreneurs at a unique point in their journey, whether rebounding from failure or driven by a hunger for further success. We found this human-centered approach fascinating, especially as it contrasts with the technology-focused strategies of past years. This year, we noticed a shift: with technology becoming increasingly commoditized, funds like Repeat Ventures are differentiating themselves through innovative and creative investment perspectives.

  

Clim8 Ventures

Clim8 Ventures is a founder and operator-led firm investing early in deep tech startups tackling climate challenges, particularly in energy decarbonization and digitization. Their entrepreneurial and operator background sets them apart, as their team leverages first-hand experience in building businesses to provide tailored support to startups. This hands-on expertise, combined with their commitment to strong returns and meaningful climate impact, makes Clim8 Ventures uniquely positioned to back transformative climate-focused innovation.

 

TA Ventures

TA Ventures is a global early-stage venture capital firm investing in sectors like mobility, digital health, fintech, and enterprise software, with a presence across Europe, North America, and beyond. They stand out for their network-driven approach, co-investing with top VC funds and providing portfolio companies with access to an extensive international network and proactive support. Additionally, their commitment to social impact, including support for non-profit initiatives in Ukraine, reflects their dedication to fostering innovation alongside meaningful societal contributions.

 

Redesign Health

Redesign Health is a healthcare innovation company that builds and scales healthcare startups, leveraging proprietary tools, technologies, and insights to lower barriers to change across the industry.

Since its inception in 2018, it has launched over 50 companies, impacting more than ten million lives across various aspects of the healthcare ecosystem.

What sets Redesign Health apart is its venture-building model, which provides founders with a proven framework and resources, accelerating innovation and creating opportunities for investors.  

 

 

Startups:

SoftCar 

Listened to Alexander Kahlert's keynote "Driving Automotive Industry Towards Net Zero Emissions" at Slush 2024.

Softcar is an innovative company in the automotive industry that focuses on sustainable vehicle production. Instead of manufacturing and selling cars directly, Softcar offers production licenses and delivers fully equipped, turnkey micro-factories to partners. This unique licensing model enables local manufacturing of their eco-friendly vehicles, allowing partners to produce cars with minimal environmental impact. 

I proposed a meeting with the founder of the Circular Library Network, a platform dedicated to fostering innovation and knowledge-sharing in the circular economy. By providing access to research, case studies, and circular business models, the network connects businesses, governments, and academics to promote the adoption of circular practices.

Will have a followup meeting to learn more about SoftCar and micro-factory based business model.

 

Greenzy

We've been closely monitoring Mill, a U.S.-based startup that offers an innovative kitchen bin designed to recycle food scraps into nutrient-rich grounds, effectively reducing household food waste. In our search for similar companies in Europe, we identified Greenzy, a Belgian startup that has developed an odorless, worm-free indoor composter aimed at simplifying organic waste recycling for households. This led us to arrange a meeting with Greenzy to explore potential synergies and understand their approach to sustainable waste management.

Greenzy is a Belgian startup that has developed an innovative indoor composter designed to simplify organic waste recycling for households. Their composter stands out by being odorless and worm-free, addressing common concerns associated with indoor composting. Additionally, it features a connected application that guides users through the composting process, ensuring optimal conditions and quality compost production. This user-friendly approach makes composting accessible and efficient for urban dwellers.

Key differences between Mill and Greenly were, Mill's appliance automates the composting process, requiring minimal user intervention, while Greenzy's composter involves manual cranking to mix and aerate the compost. Also Mill processes food waste overnight, providing quick results, whereas Greenzy's composting process takes approximately two months to complete.

Having spent years in the B2C market and felt the challenges of high marketing costs, we recommended that Greenzy pivot to a B2B strategy by targeting enterprise catering services. This approach could help them scale more efficiently, and we offered an introduction to our portfolio company, Cauli Box, which has successfully implemented a similar strategy and could provide valuable insights.

 

Pionix

Pionix, a portfolio company of Mobility Fund—where we are an investor—specializes in open-source software for EV charging infrastructure. Their flagship platform, EVerest, enables manufacturers to standardize and customize charging systems, fostering collaboration and innovation in the EV ecosystem. Backed by an experienced team, PIONIX is shaping the future of scalable and efficient charging solutions, making them a key player in the industry.

We were highly impressed by the founder, Marco, whose vision and exceptional capability to deliver this global technology in an efficient and scalable manner stood out. His leadership is clearly driving PIONIX to make a significant impact in the EV charging ecosystem.

 

Carbon Centrum

Founder Çağrı reached out to us through a mutual connection, sharing his extensive background in product design and deployment.

In the competitive landscape of carbon measurement, CarbonID distinguishes itself with its clear and intuitive platform design, making it a compelling solution. Notably, CarbonID offers real-time carbon tracking across various activities, including mobility, shopping, and home energy use, providing users with personalized insights and practical tips to make eco-friendly choices. Additionally, the platform emphasizes user privacy by processing data locally on the device, ensuring that personal information remains secure. 

During our conversation, we explored potential collaboration opportunities, discussing how CarbonID’s features could be leveraged to drive impactful initiatives and align with broader sustainability efforts, creating meaningful partnerships to support the journey toward net-zero emissions.

 

 

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