We fiercely back founders changing millions of lives for the better. From workplace zen to financial literacy: we’re here for it all.
We look at “4-T’s”
1. Teams
We look for:
- Complimentary skill-sets (tech & sales),
- Founder-market fit,
- Eye-to-eye conversation,
- Strong values,
- Personal chemistry,
- Diversity
We tend to avoid:
- Little-to-no tech expertise,
- Single founders,
- Incomplete teams,
- Homogeneity,
- Overly inflated egos
2. Traction
We look for:
- Strong customer validation,
- Data-driven decision-making,
- Revenue quality > quantity,
- Solid GTM strategy,
- Positive unit economics
We tend to avoid:
- Capital inefficiency,
- Unengaged users,
- Pre-mature scaling
3. Thesis
We look for:
- Painkiller solutions,
- Fierce value propositions,
- Deep moats,
- Big markets,
- Big visions
We tend to avoid:
- Vitamins,
- Small ambitions,
- Crowded markets,
- Indefensible solutions
4. Timing
We look for:
- Teams ready to scale,
- Clear investment plans,
- Market-Readiness
- Aka “Why now?”
We tend to avoid:
- Highly diluted founders,
- Imbalanced cap tables,
- Strategic investors
How do I get in touch with Peak?
If you want to get in touch regarding funding, contact us here.
For any inquiries not related to funding, you can send a message to our general email at info@peak.capital.
What kind of companies do you invest in?
We invest in early-stage SaaS, marketplace, and platform companies ran by kick-ass teams (excuse the french). We focus on SaaS, marketplace, and platform models, rather than particular industry verticals. What makes these models tick, and how to scale them across stages of maturity, verticals, or borders, is our expertise.
P.s We do not discriminate – we do B2C, B2B, B2B2C, C2C, and all those great acronyms 😉
My product has a hardware component – should I reach out to you?
Hmm, this is a good question. Given our laser focus on SaaS, marketplace, and platform models, hardware is often out of our scope.
If your business is primarily SaaS, marketplace, or platform, and the hardware component is marginal (off-the-shelf, not a core driver of the value, distribution, or monetization of your product), please get in touch and we can review your case.
- How does this work for example?
- One at a time
What countries are you active in?
We are a European investor with offices in Stockholm, Berlin and Amsterdam. Our primary focus is on the Nordics, DACH and Benelux.
Do you invest in companies located outside of Europe?
We invest in companies based in Europe.
We know that this can sometimes be a grey area, especially with increasingly hybrid and remote-first team structures; borders are becoming blurry. In principle, our European focus means that the founding country and/or members of the founding team are based in Europe. If you are not sure, please reach out.
We may invest in companies registered outside of Europe (such as a US Delaware Inc.) if the company is of European origin or has a large portion of operations in the EU.
What is your average ticket size?
Our average initial ticket size ranges from EUR 250k-4M. Note that we reserve a large portion of our fund for follow-on rounds. This means we have both the conviction and the firepower to continue supporting our portfolio founders from Pre-Seed to Series B and beyond.
As an investor, do you lead rounds or follow?
Being the lead investor is in our DNA. As we are fully funded and ran by entrepreneurs like yourself, we are active and boots-on-the-ground partners.
That being said, we are open to co-investing and following rounds where there is a strong lead. The most important consideration is there is a positive relationship between all parties at the table.
Do you provide follow-on funding?
Yes. The majority of our fund is reserved for follow-on rounds for our portfolio. We have both the conviction and the firepower to continue supporting our founders from Pre-Seed to Series B and beyond.
We also support our portfolio founders in raising later rounds. As we operated for many years as a smaller, Dutch-focused fund, we have had to build out a robust network of investors beyond our borders over the years. Head over to our portfolio page to see a few of the co-investors and follow-on investors that we work with.
What information should I put in my pitch deck?
Good question! First, scroll up to the top of the page and explore the 4 “T”s that we look at. This gives you an idea of what we look for in any given proposition. Spoiler: the team is hands-down most important.
Here are the most important things to address in your pitch deck:
Team
- Who are you? Who is in your team, what did you do before, what is each person’s role, why are you the right team to tackle this problem?
Thesis
- What problem are you solving? Let us know what is so broken, that you started a company to fix it. Touch upon these sub-questions: what is your experience with this problem, why does it matter, and how big is it? How is it solved today? This might sound strange, but please make sure it is clear what you actually do.
- What is your business model? The million-dollar question aka how do you make money?
- What is your go-to-market (GTM) strategy? We want to know how you’ll sell your product. Try to cover these topics: Who are your customers, who are your users (if there is a difference), how will you reach them? What channels and playbooks will you employ?
- How large is the market? A hard one to calculate…but important nonetheless. We’re curious to know the total market you’re operating in (TAM) and, importantly, how much of that you can capture (SOM).
- What does the competitive landscape look like? Ahh the classic competition diagram, we’re ready: 4-square matrix, company logo = 50% larger, top right corner.
Jokes aside, this is one of the most important topics in our eyes. We want to understand what’s going on in your market. What are the different areas of competition and who are the key players? Try to highlight what makes you different (differentiation, USP) and how you will defend against other players (defensibility).
Traction
- What is your current traction? We want to know about your progress – both commercial and technical. The information here depends on what you’re building and how far along you are. If you have not yet brought your product to market, including key info on your customer validation and technical development.
For later-stage companies, please include key metrics on the number of customers, current revenue, growth rates, retention, unit economics, and all that jazz.
Timing
- How much capital are you raising? Why now? Importantly, how will you spend it? What is your valuation range for this round?
- How much capital have you raised previously? From whom? There is no such thing as too early, but they’re such a thing as too late. Please communicate how much funding you have raised previously and what investors you have on board!
What is your investment process?
This depends on what stage you are in with your company; the process varies from founder to founder and not one size fits all.
The general process is an initial meeting with a member of the Peak team. The purpose of this meeting is first and foremost to get to know you as founders. We are team-first investors. We want to know the face behind the business – your experience, your inspiration, and what sort of founder-market fit you have. We can go through your pitch deck to understand what you’re building, and how far along.If we decide to move forward, we’ll have follow-up sessions bringing in our partners, diving under the hood of your company, and exploring the chemistry between all parties. For us, the most important part of this process is to get to know you and the entire founding team – for you to get to know us as well.We don’t believe in slapping down a term sheet overnight. Not to say that we don’t move fast – we can and do – but it is important for us to truly understand what you’re building and all of the different facets of your company.We will ask for data, take a closer look at the competition, give back in the process, and progress towards a full understanding of your team, your company, and, hopefully, a term sheet and partnership.
Who are your/Peak’s limited partners (investors)?
You might have seen the term ‘founder funded around our website. This is true!
Peak started back in 2008 when a group of 5 entrepreneurs came together to collectively invest in ambitious founders…and be the investors they wished that they had when they were starting up. We still have that DNA. All of our funds, from Peak I to Peak IV, are backed 100% by seasoned entrepreneurs.Our investors come from a wide range of industries stemming from manufacturing and logistics to tech Unicorns, bringing with them lived experience, market expertise, and network.
Who is on the Peak team?
We’re a colorful team of big characters. Get to know the Peak family more on our team page.
Are you hiring?
We are actively offering 6-months internships throughout the year.
We also keep an eye out for sharp, motivated people to join the Peak family. Shoot us an email (talent@peak.capital) with your CV, motivation, and a short video pitch of yourself, and we’ll be in touch.
Are any of your portfolio company’s hiring?
A question we love to hear. The answer is: always!
Visit our job board to see an overview of all of the open positions and apply. You can also find the specific careers page linked in the portfolio section.
We are fierce believers in the vision and ability of our founders, and the teams they are building around them. We have confidence that any of our portfolio companies will be a great place to work.