Midas List Europe Trendsetters In 2021: Early Bets In Digital Transformation Fueled Investors’ Success

Earlier this year TrueBridge published our inaugural list of Midas Trendsetters, which included global investors whose multiple, early bets across high-growth industries helped land them a spot on the global Midas List. As tech investing continues to reach new heights this year in Europe and beyond, we are excited to see both the returning investors and newcomers on this year’s Midas List Europe—many of which represent the key European VC players at the forefront of a new wave investing into hyper-growth companies.

It’s often said that great companies emerge in times of crisis, and that certainly applies to the tech ecosystem we see today not only in Europe, but around the globe. With the urgent shift to digitization and online practices, the technology sector has evolved accordingly, capitalizing on these lasting consumer trends.

These European investors are savvy early movers in companies benefiting tremendously from ongoing digital transformation, and thus driving incredible value for their backers. Similar to what we witnessed when identifying our global Midas Trendsetters earlier this year, there are numerous European investors well ahead of the curve, having made early bets on companies that are now experiencing explosive growth amid an intensely overcrowded landscape of interested investors fighting for access and subsequent success.  

Below is our inaugural list of European Midas Trendsetters, whose first mover advantage across newly minted, high-growth industries helped land them a spot on the 2021 Midas List Europe:

1.    Jan Hammer, Index Ventures (#1)

Jan Hammer joined Index Ventures in 2010 as an investor and partner after working as an investor at General Atlantic and an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. At Index, Hammer focuses on investments in data and financial services, having developed a deep track record of spotting young companies that will go on to transform the digital economy. His Midas appearances reflect his early bets as this is his fourth year ranking first on Midas List Europe.

Hammer was an early-stage investor in Adyen, first meeting CEO Pieter van der Does in 2011. When Adyen hit the public markets in 2018, Index Ventures’ nearly 17% stake became worth more than $3 billion. Since Adyen went public, it has reached a sky-high valuation of $100 billion. Hammer was also an early investor in Robinhood, meeting with the company eight years ago when it served as a space for users to trade stock tips. Hammer saw potential in the business and invested an initial $500,000, even as 75 other investors rejected the company during its first round of fundraising. That investment, and others that soon followed, led to a stake valued at $3 billion at the time of Robinhood’s 2021 IPO.

Hammer’s other early bets include fintech company Wise, which offers alternative global banking options. Hammer is certainly a first mover in the European VC landscape, and one can expect to see his investments in these trendsetting companies continue to outperform.

Relevant investments*:

·      Adyen (Fintech)

·      Robinhood (Online Brokerage)

·      Wise (Fintech)

2.    Luciana Lixandru, Sequoia (#2)

Luciana Lixandru made news in March 2020 when she joined Sequoia as a Partner to start its first European office. She joined from Accel, where she focused on investing in enterprise software and consumer internet companies. Prior to Accel, Lixandru worked at Morgan Stanley and was also an investor with Summit Partners.

Notably, while at Accel, she led a roughly $20 million initial investment in UiPath in 2017. Accel went on to spend $172 million accumulating UiPath shares in subsequent years, building a stake worth $5.9 billion at UiPath’s 2021 IPO. UiPath’s revenue soared 126% in fiscal 2020 and it grew another 81% in fiscal 2021 as the market for automation skyrocketed amidst the pandemic. Her other notable investments at early stages include a Series B in Deliveroo in 2015, Miro’s Series A in 2018, and a February 2020 seed round at Hopin – all shortly after their respective founding.

Firm in her belief that it’s just a matter of who, not when Europe’s first $100 billion tech company will emerge, Lixandru has set her sights on seed, early-stage, and growth companies at Sequoia – and her deep conviction should continue to pay off. Not only have her early investments helped her become a trendsetter, her bullish view on Europe’s tech scene and move to establish Sequoia’s first European office make her an all-around standout, poised to benefit from the tech boom we are seeing take hold in Europe.

Relevant investments*:

·      UiPath (AI/Automation Software)

·      Deliveroo (Food Delivery)

·      Miro (Collaboration Tool)

·      Hopin (Virtual Venue)

3.    Klaus Hommels, Lakestar (#6)

Klaus Hommels is the Founder and Chairman of Lakestar and one of Europe’s leading venture capitalists. He is also a prominent voice and advocate for the European tech ecosystem with the aim of strengthening Europe’s position, especially in this time of digital transformation we’re witnessing in the wake of the pandemic.

An early investor in Spotify, Hommels initially purchased private shares from CEO Daniel Ek, whom he had known at a previous company. He later made several follow-on investments in Spotify and secured a board position from 2009-2017.

Just before the start of the pandemic, Hommels made a timely investment in fintech company Revolut’s $580 million Series D funding round in 2020. Revolut went on to have a blockbuster year, increasing its 2020 revenue by 57%. Hommels was also an early backer of Blockchain.com, participating in a $40 million Series B fundraising round in 2017. Blockchain.com grew by nearly two million users each month in 2021, reflecting the trend of increased consumer demand for access to cryptocurrencies.

As Europe’s tech sector continues to mint new unicorns, Hommels certainly has the track record to advocate for Europe’s strong position in the global tech sector.

Relevant investments*:

·      Spotify (Music Streaming)

·      Revolut (Fintech)

·      Blockchain.com (Crypto)

4.    Philippe Botteri, Accel (#7)

Philippe Botteri joined Accel in 2011 as a Partner focusing on cloud applications and security. Prior to Accel, Botteri worked for Bessemer Venture Partners in the U.S., where he helped build the firm’s cloud practice. Notably, Philippe was an early believer in the promise of SaaS companies dating back to the burst of the Internet bubble in 2001 – and this early conviction amid skepticism in Silicon Valley was certainly a worthwhile bet.

Botteri led Accel’s investment in online signature company DocuSign in 2012, which went public at a $4.5 billion valuation in 2018 and has grown to hundreds of millions of users in more than 180 countries. He also helped lead the firm’s 2017 Series A investment in UiPath, which eventually went public at a $31 billion valuation, as well as an early investment fintech company Melio, which has since reached unicorn status.

In today’s digital world, cloud applications and security companies are seeing outsized growth as they serve critical roles in enabling business success and efficiency – and are poised to continue driving industry-leading returns for their investors.

Relevant investments*:

·      DocuSign (eSignature)

·      UiPath (AI/Automation Software)

·      Melio (Fintech)

5.    Avi Eyal, Entrée Capital (#3)

Avi Eyal is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of Entrée Capital, which funds multi-stage startups and companies. Previously, Eyal co-founded SigmaLabs, a non-profit accelerator. A serial entrepreneur with extensive knowledge in growing businesses in the high-tech and financial sectors, Eyal uses the experience he’s gained over the past 20 years as an entrepreneur, engineer, and investor to help software, hardware, mobile, and internet start-ups.

Notably, Eyal made an early investment in HR software company Gusto in 2012 shortly after its founding. With Gusto now valued at an impressive $9.5 billion, many are speculating that it is preparing for a public market debut. Another noteworthy early investment was Eyal’s 2013 seed investment in Monday.com, which was recently valued at $7.5 billion after the first day of trading in its Nasdaq IPO.

Relevant investments*:

·      Gusto (HR Software)

·      Monday.com (Work Management Software)

6.    Reshma Sohoni, Seedcamp (#16)

One of the standout women founders of a top-tier VC fund, Reshma Sohoni co-founded Seedcamp in 2007, where she looks to spot and support world-changing startups at the seed stage with the goal of helping propel them from young companies – often before they find product/market fit – into strong brands. Prior to co-founding Seedcamp, Sohoni was at Vodafone.

Known by some as the “queen of seed funding,” Sohoni has a successful track record of being the earliest backer in a number of leading companies, including a 2015 seed investment in previously mentioned Revolut, which has grown rapidly and increased its 2020 revenue by 57% as a result of the pandemic-driven digital transformation. Joining her fellow trendsetters, Sohoni’s other notable early investments include UiPath’s 2015 seed round, Wise’s 2015 Series C round, and Hopin’s 2019 pre-seed round. In her role at Seedcamp, Sohoni has been a very early backer in many household brands that rose to prominence, a trend we can expect to continue for years to come.

Relevant investments*:

·      Revolut (Fintech)

·      UiPath (AI/Automation Software)

·      Wise (Fintech)

·      Hopin (Virtual Venue)

7.    Frederic Court, Felix Capital (#18)

Frederic Court of Felix Capital has over 20 years of experience in the tech industry. Court founded Felix Capital in 2015 and focuses on digital lifestyle investments, backing new digital brands and platforms as well as related enabling technologies. He was formerly a General Partner with Advent Ventures in London, and before that was an entrepreneur in France, building a VC-backed online marketplace for the textile industry.

Many of Court’s investments focus on tech-savvy millennials – something which has clearly paid off as the digital-first mindset has globally taken root. A true first-mover in ecommerce, Court was the first investor in online global fashion marketplace Farfetch, leading its Series A funding round in 2010. Since then, Farfetch has held an IPO at a $6.2 billion valuation.

While first taking notice of the company in 2015, Court made a 2018 investment in Peloton, which hit the public markets in 2019 at an $8.1 billion valuation. Court’s early investment in Deliveroo also paid off as the company more than doubled its number of customer orders to 149 million in the first six months of 2021 as the demand for takeaway meals continued to accelerate.

Relevant investments*:

·      Farfetch (eCommerce)

·      Peloton (Exercise)

·      Deliveroo (Food Delivery)

* Does not include all the investor’s portfolio companies.