Apeiron Venture Capital

firstminute capital is a $320m sector-agnostic seed fund backed by 120 unicorn founders, including over 20 founders of $10bn+ businesses. Our General Partner Brent Hoberman is a double unicon founder. Yet, we are more than a fund. We’re an ecosystem of entrepreneurs from all over the world who, facilitated by firstminute capital’s team, come together to help one another, turn vision into reality and create the future. Our community is our edge. It is the source of the transformational support we offer to our partners who are warmly welcomed inside. An invitation into the firstminute capital community is secured by those with a special kind of spirit, not just a solid spreadsheet. A rare breed driven by a powerful characteristic we call, ‘Magnetic Ambition.’ Those with it often don’t recognise it in themselves, yet they are propelled forward by it, every day. We see it in their ability to capture hearts and minds with their vision, their belief and their commitment. When we find a founder with Magnetic Ambition, we open the door to the firstminute capital community and we give them everything they need. At your service What can founders expect from working with us? First of all, our 9-person investment team will fight for founders. Between us, members of the team have backed 10 unicorn startups at seed; we have IPO-ed companies; we have started companies; we have fundraised ourselves and we have failed and picked ourselves up again. So we are all here to help with advice, strategy brainstorming, product workshops, introductions to customers, raising a Series A or just being there for you in the tough times as well as the good times. If we can't help, we'll know someone in our extensive network who can and we'll make that intro. On top of the investment team, founders also get the whole "platform" team, which is another 11 people dedicated to helping founders scale their business and help with areas such as hiring and marketing. Our goal is to be the most helpful seed fund in Europe. We love to help founders build. Network effects At firstminute, we see ourselves as collaboration catalysts. We act to unlock the value our the community and bring our own expertise to bear when the time is right. Thanks to our 120 unicorn backers as well as a network of top CEO supporting us, firstminute has an extensive global reach. We like to bring on our investors - some of the top angels in the world - into our deals and as advisers to supercharge companies. firstminute's co-founder is Brent Hoberman, who after founding and exiting two unicorn startups himself created a network of companies under the 'Founders' umbrella. These include a world-class event series called Founders Forum as well as a consultancy, a recruitment firm, a charitable arm and Europe's largest incubator-accelerator. This whole ecosystem is part of our network, which helps with everything from sales introduction to finding top talent. We also have a large investor network to help with that Series A fundraise and beyond, having done deals with our friend at funds such as Tiger Global, Sequoia, Benchmark, a16z, Coatue and Atomico. Being part of our community, with our events and parties with some of the biggest names in tech and business, means you will be working with the best. We do an annual retreat for founders as well as regular drinks and dinners. Every year we hold our flagship summit in London which brings together firstminute investors, portfolio founders, partners from the top US and European multi-stage funds, and friends who are all bright lights in the tech community. Read more about that here.

We want to invest in solutions to problems which impact a lot of people. If you are simply iterating a market, 7percent is not for you. We seek the 200x winners and pass on the less risky, less ambitious opportunities. We are looking for moonshots. We back the technologies and products that in ten years people will wonder how the world ever lived without - the breakthrough companies and technologies. What's in a name? “A good early stage growth rate is 5-7% a week. If you can hit 10% a week you’re doing exceptionally well, but if you can only manage 1%, it’s a sign you haven’t yet figured out what you’re doing“ Paul Graham - Y Combinator Why take our moneyMaybe don't. Not every entrepreneurial business should take venture funding. The venture capital journey is best for big risk, big outcome businesses. A startup is a company which is different because it is able to g Ex-founder led with Silicon Valley ambition. For >10 years we have been investing at pre-seed and seed as angel investors then VC’s. With experience operating as founders in both the U.K. and U.S. we have the confidence to back you to reach for the stars, with access to the expertise and capital via the three networks we co-founded. Read more here. Our Mantra: to help not hinder your startup. This is a guiding principle in everything we do. Because our Partners are ex-Founders themselves, this helps us empathise. We have a better understanding than many other investors, of the challenges you will experience when building a company from scratch, because we’ve done it ourselves. We have: Founded, grown and sold successful tech startups Founded tech startups and failed Taken angel or VC investment for our own startups and raised it for others Built transatlantic reach across startup ecosystems, from West and Eastern European to North America Backed >150 companies over the past 10 years, as a firm or as angels.

The VC next door for your path into the world. We believe that anyone with the right idea, ambition and execution can build a category-defining company. Bringing 'Made in Germany' to the digital age Germany has a longstanding reputation for first-class engineering, for high quality products that have a global impact. We believe that the label 'Made in Germany' needs to arrive in the digital age. We believe that the brands shaping the future will be tech companies. And we believe that some of these tech companies can and must be built here. Since our foundation in 2013, we've been supporting daring entrepreneurs from the German-speaking regions in building global category leaders that will shape the decades to come. Investment focus We get in early - from Pre-Seed to Series A. Our main expertise lies in supporting early-stage tech startups in their first crucial decisions: from setting up a finance department to the first executive hires. With our industry network, hands-on approach and our supporting functions such as marketing and finance, we help to turn a business idea into a fully-fledged company. As a VC firm with people on the ground in Cologne, Berlin, and Munich we have a deep-rooted network in the German tech scene. That’s why we strongly focus our investment activities on Germany and the German-speaking regions. That doesn’t rule out deals elsewhere - but we certainly need extra conviction then. Track record We have supported companies on their journeys from Seed right through to IPO. 44 active Capnamic investments 350 million EUR of capital under management 900 million EUR of funds raised by our portfolio companies We believein entrepreneurs changing the world: But they can’t do it all on their own. That’s why we try to play our part by being sparring partners available at all times, by opening doors, or simply by having your back. in empathetic honesty: We have a ‘Bullshit Buzzer’ in our main meeting room for a reason. We’re going to be completely honest with the founders we work with, and they in turn can depend on our loyalty and support. We won’t leave your side when the first rain drops fall. in team, timing, technology: A strong team is the core of every successful startup. But for an idea to thrive, it also needs the right timing and a defensible technology. If you have the three Ts, there’s a good chance you’re at the start of something big. in making our network your network: Having started as a multi-corporate VC with LPs from some of the biggest national and international corporations, we value a strong network above most other things. in realness not the hype: Not every company that gets massive funding has the substance to last. We always form our own opinion and we even tend to get skeptical when things are hyped. But once we’re convinced of a business idea, we give it everything we’ve got. in sparring not steering: We do our best to be active partners, coaches and mentors on an equal footing. But at the end of the day, nobody knows their product, company and market better than the founders.

Wir investieren in erfolgsorientierte Gründer, die weltverändernde Technologien einsetzen um disruptive Lösungen zu entwickeln und helfen ihnen durch Kapital, Know-how und Netzwerk zu wachsen. Early-Growth Startups Wir fokussieren uns auf Early-Growth Technologie-Startups vorrangig ab der Series A, die über ein Proof of Concept verfügen und mit einem innovativen Geschäftsmodell erste erfolgsversprechende Traktion im Markt aufzeigen können. Diversifikation Grundsätzlich schauen wir uns eine weite Bandbreite unterschiedlichster Unternehmen an und agieren dabei branchenunabhängig. Ausgenommen sind die Bereiche Pharma und BioTech, die wir aktuell nicht abdecken. DACH Region Wir möchten unseren Startups möglichst nahe sein. Um unser Netzwerk effektiv und zielorientiert einsetzen zu können, fokussieren wir uns mit dem aktuellen Portfolio auf die DACH Region.